Something More
by mixthealphabet
Summary: Most of the time, Natsu saw Lucy as his best friend. But there were some moments in which he couldn't help but think that she might be something… more. Moving in for the winter probably wasn't a very good idea, either. Especially when winter turns into spring.
1. Something More

**Chapter 1: Something More**

_Just say yes, just say there's nothing holding you back. It's not a test nor a trick of the mind, only love._

"I don't understand what you're trying to do, Lucy."

The blonde pursed her lips at him, irritated by his lack of acceptance to her demands.

"It's a party! You have to dance. Everyone knows that, Natsu, you idiot." She glared but there was no real anger behind her eyes, and the boy simply crossed his arms over his chest, still unable to see the point in her trying to teach him anything. "Please?" She tried again, changing her strategy as she moved to look up at him through lowered lashes. "There must be some girl you want to impress. You are reaching twenty one years old, after all. Dancing can help with that!"

The implication in her words made Natsu stagger, a light warmth taking his cheeks as the birthday boy tried to take a step back to distance himself from the mocking grin of his best friend.

"W-What are you talking about, you damn pervert?!"

The girl laughed, obviously appreciating her ability to make even the great Salamander blush.

"See? I knew you weren't as clueless as you like to make others think you are!" She tilted her head to the side, winking at Natsu. "And quit thinking such weird things, I didn't mean it like that. If there is a girl, dancing will help to get her to notice you."

The boy looked to the side, trying to act nonchalant even though his face remained a bit pink.

"You're the weirdo." He mumbled under his breath, before finally noticing that Mirajane was staring at them from across the room, observing in a manner the barmaid obviously thought to be inconspicuous. Her sister, Lisanna, wasn't far behind, giggling into her hand with something akin to mischief.

Mischief and the Strauss sisters didn't sit well with the dragon slayer.

They had grown up together, which should be reason enough for anyone to understand why Natsu disliked the idea that those two were plotting something. If it wasn't, the fact that they had caught him blushing over Lucy being near him would definitely explain his sudden discomfort.

"Just bear with me, okay?" The blonde girl was tugging at his vest and trying to force herself into his line of sight. Her lips twisted into a pout and Lucy pulled him to her, almost leaning against him.

He stumbled slightly, pushing his friend away as gently as he could.

"Will you stop doing that?"

The blonde's face scrunched up in confusion, in a way that almost made Natsu hit himself to stop his mind from thinking about how incredibly cute she looked sometimes.

Despite her previous experiences with the opposite sex – much more of an experience than he ever had – and her book-related knowledge, Lucy could be strangely oblivious to the way she affected him. Her innocence was adorable and her trust in him, astonishing, but there were moments that the pink haired boy wished the celestial mage would realize that he was a male and she was a female and no matter how not-sexual he could be, even he had his limits.

There would be… incidents. Situations in which he would look at Lucy and see something more than the girl he'd helped join his guild, something more than his best friend and nakama. He would see a beautiful young woman, with skirts that were a bit too tight and tank tops that went more than a bit too low.

Natsu didn't really understand what these confusing thoughts meant, but he wasn't about to let them ruin their friendship. There was, of course, no way that Lucy could ever see him like that, so what was the point?

And, then, she did things like this; hugging and holding his hand and _wanting to dance_.

"Natsu, I'm not doing anything!" She sighed, annoyed by the lack of sense in her partner's actions.

The girl was shifting her weight from one leg to the other, her hands closed into fists by her sides. It had been years since she had perfected that look, the one she'd most likely learned from watching Erza as the redhead handled Natsu and Gray. It hadn't, however, lost its effects over the dragon slayer and he cowered under her gaze.

It was a no win situation, of that Natsu was sure. He was already pushing his luck by refusing her pleas, but Lucy could go to incredible lengths when she put an idea in her head. It was endearing that she wanted to help him so badly, but it was also weirdly frustrating that she saw no problem in being at such intimacy with him.

"Why do you want to do this, anyway? I wanted to just go on another mission, but you insisted in this damn party!" He replied, defensively.

The statement made her deflate. The blonde let her eyes drop to the floor and her fists unclenched, so her arms were hanging lifelessly. Natsu had no idea what he'd done wrong, but the realization that it was his sudden irritation that had somehow depressed Lucy made despair flood his chest.

"It's just…" She hesitated, grabbing her left arm in a half self-hug. "It was a costume back when I lived with my parents. The kids of their friends would turn twenty one and they would have these beautiful parties, in which they danced with their special people: parents, siblings, lovers… My birthday passed, and my family is dead, so I never got to –" She let out a sob, and the panic within Natsu increased. "I just thought… You are always saying how Fairy Tail is your family. You truly see us as your siblings. So I thought it would be okay if I continued with the tradition by dancing with you."

It wasn't odd that Lucy was sharing such a thing with him. After the ordeal with Phantom Lord, she had stopped being so tight lipped about her life before the guild. But those memories were difficult for her, specially after her father's death, and Natsu had grown accustomed to hearing only bits and pieces, like when she would comment on her mother's cooking being similar to Mirajane's or when she mentioned a certain object that belonged to her Heartfilia heritage.

"I- I didn't mean…"

She looked up with a watery smile, taking the hand he'd extended and squeezing gently.

"It's okay."

"W-we don't even know how old I actually am, since Igneel was the only one that could be sure and…"

Lucy chuckled this time, gripping his hand more firmly and pulling him closer, so that she could rest her other hand in his shoulder.

"It's okay."

The boy relaxed a bit, letting his arm involve her waist as they swayed to the soft tone that came from the guild's speakers. The music was slow and calming, and it made Natsu remember how Lisanna and Mirajane had been awfully close to the sound equipment when he'd seen them earlier.

The sensation of Lucy's form against his wasn't alien to the pink-haired boy. After knowing her for so long, there had been more than a few awkward situations involving her body. For some reason, fate seemed to have a problem with letting the celestial mage keep her clothes _on_.

_"Not that I am about to complain"_, he thought gingerly, feeling as, once again, warmth crept up his cheeks.

"Oh my, my, what have we here?" Mirajane's voice came to them with a sigh. She was walking by with a tray, circling the two with a very unsafe kind of smile. "Don't stop on my account."

Lisanna had joined her sister, appearing on the other side of them.

"Yes, the dance is a very important thing when a man turns twenty one." She uttered happily. "If you want, I can dance with you as your sibling." The sisters shared a look as Lucy and Natsu stood, frozen with embarrassment, between them.

Lisanna moved to leave them alone, but not before the boy heard her mutter something along the lines of "since you already seem to have found yourself a lover…" in a voice that was entirely too giddy.

Making a point not to look at Lucy's face, he tried to regain the pace they'd set moments earlier. The girl in his arms complied, but her hands moved to his neck and her face found its way to his shoulder, where Lucy hid herself.

Mira walked into his line of sight, crossing the room to the bar and winking at him as she did so.

"Look at those matching blushes!" She mock whispered, and the celestial mage shifted in his embrace, tensing and mumbling into his neck about how the barmaid always saw too much into these moments and how her relationship with Natsu wasn't like that, in a tone of almost panic, but made no move to get away.

The boy ignored the teasing, realizing that he was way too comfortable to try and start a fight with any of the Strauss. Not to forget that Lucy would probably kill him if he purposely ruined their dance after she'd finally confessed why the whole thing was so important to her.

"Thank you, Natsu." The blonde looked up, revealing that Mirajane hadn't been lying about her flushed face. They matched. "You're my best friend and I- I love you."

"Of course I love my best friend back, you weirdo." Natsu hugged Lucy closer, suddenly extremely glad that he'd agreed to do this.

Most of the time, Natsu saw Lucy as his best friend. But there were some moments – moments like these – in which he couldn't help but think that she might be something… more.

* * *

**This was a whim and it wouldn't leave me until I wrote it. It's a bit silly but I enjoyed it. I might make it into a series. The song is Just say yes, by Snow Patrol.**


	2. His and Hers

**Chapter 2: His and Hers**

_But if you ask me, the feeling that I'm feeling is complimentery and, oh, it goes to show the moral of the story is boy loves girl. And so on the way that it unfolds is yet to be told._

There were few things that Natsu remembered from his time with Igneel.

He remembered warmth and what he supposed to be the touch of his dad's claws as he drifted to sleep. He remembered that being with him felt like freedom, running around in the woods and laughing until they couldn't catch their breath, as if the rules of the world didn't apply to them.

Most of all, the boy remembered feeling like Igneel belonged to him and like he belonged to the dragon, because they were family and that… That was home.

For a long time after his father's disappearance, all that Natsu felt was loss. He still smiled and acted ridiculously but, in his heart, all the boy could think about was that he needed to go back home.

Fairy Tail was a fresh start that he couldn't have predicted in his wildest dreams.

The guild was overflowing with other kids, with mages from different origins and specialties. It was a world he had never seen and, for some time, it was also enough to distract his mind from the pain of having lost Igneel. They showed him things that the dragon had never been able to, teaching him how to read and write, how to behave in an almost acceptable way in their society.

But Fairy Tail was wild and it didn't take a lot for Natsu to fit right in.

Time went by as quickly as it does when you're young, but the feeling that something was lacking never did leave.

Despite his characteristic obliviousness, even the pink haired boy was able to understand that he missed his family. Years had passed, but Igneel had raised him and Natsu owned him for that. The dragon had cared for him, had given him his magic, and had, more likely than not, saved his life when he decided to raise him.

There were so many things that he still wanted to ask about his biological parents and about why a dragon like Igneel would want to be involved with a human infant. The questions burned in the back of his mind, like a fire that could never go out. It drove him to fight and do better than he already had, because Natsu had to live and he had to find his father.

Fairy Tail was his family, his friends and his nakama, but he was Igneel's and Igneel was _his_.

It was that ever present desire to reunite with his father that led Natsu to Hargeon, where there had been sights of "the Salamander". Impulsive and somewhat clueless to his surroundings, the boy had truly believed that to be his father, not even realizing the panic that a dragon in midtown would have caused.

He didn't regret it.

Meeting Lucy was a strange occurrence, with her being so kind and so warm and so _true_. There was really no other way of describing the girl. She had accepted her shortcomings and tried to rise above them, making sure to be thankful for those that had helped her. The way her smile made him feel was… weird.

She became his best friend, always there when he needed it, in a manner that never seemed to make sense. But lack of sense had never stopped him before, so Natsu took her into Fairy Tail and into his life, accepting her quirks like she'd done his.

The dragon slayer was selfish when it came to the precious people in his life. He took of them all that he could get and he gave all of him in return. There was no half. Fairy Tail was his. Happy was his. And he made Lucy his so that, in time, he would become hers as well.

Her protector, her best friend, her constant annoyance. It didn't matter much, as long as it allowed him to be near her.

Which, you could say, was the problem with their current situation.

"But, Mira, when is Lucy coming back?" He complained into his plate, biting the last bit of meat and trying to suppress the frown that had been etched into his face for a week already.

The barmaid smiled kindly back, cleaning a cup as she gave the young boy the attention he so desperately seemed to need.

"I think she's supposed to be getting to Magnolia later this afternoon." She replied helpfully, sending a questioning look to Lisanna, who had been passing by them with a tray.

"I think so." The younger girl hummed, bringing a hand to her chin in a thoughtful way. "But I don't think she'll come to the guild until tomorrow. Something about resting after her first solo mission."

The exceed by Natsu's side grinned happily, saying that it sure sounded like Lucy, but the boy in question merely groaned.

"Well, you seem a little down, Natsu. Is everything okay?"

His childhood friend was staring at him with worried eyes, glancing at her sister for help. Instead, Mirajane shrugged and went back to the customers, looking a bit too cheerful for someone that had no idea why one of her fellow guild members was upset.

"It's just boring when Lucy is not here."

The entertained grin that spread across Lisanna's lips had to be disguised under her palm as the girl set her tray down and reached for a package that had been sitting on the counter.

"Well, Mira was thinking of sending a little something for Lucy, since she probably doesn't have much to eat left in her house." The girl sent a soft but no less accusing look in Happy's direction. "Maybe you could give it to her. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you, as well."

Natsu immediately perked up, but he remained sitting, eyeing the bundle in Lisanna's arms with distrust.

"But Lucy says she doesn't like it when we barge in."

The other chuckled lightly.

"I'm sure she'll forgive you, this time."

It was all the incentive he needed and the boy got up and rushed across town, carrying the package Lisanna had given him, in a direct path to Lucy's apartment.

As he balanced himself in the window's frame, he could already feel the recent scent of flowers and apples that he'd come to associate with his best friend. Just as Natsu realized this, the blonde entered the room, clothed in surprisingly modest pajamas and brushing her still wet hair.

For a moment, the dragon slayer said nothing, staring at her with unblinking eyes as he took in the bandage in her arm and her tanned skin. Then, Lucy looked up, seeming to have sensed his presence, and smiled.

Happy was throwing himself on her arms before Natsu had even been capable of properly stepping into the room. He wanted to scowl the exceed for being so careless, but the grin in his face didn't diminish. He was far too happy to also be angry.

"You're here!" The boy joyously shouted, making his way to his best friends in a second and involving Lucy's waist before pulling her off the ground.

The celestial mage laughed in his arms, holding onto him and Happy at the same time. He spun one time before letting her down.

"I am! But what are the two of you doing here?" She grinned against his chest. "I thought I wouldn't see you until tomorrow."

At this, the blue exceed giggled into his hand.

"Natsu couldn't stay away. He liiikes you!"

The boy stared at Happy in a mixture of aggravation and embarrassment, but made no move to deny it.

Instead of being affected by those words, Lucy tightened her grip around his neck.

"Mira sent some food. She thought you might not have anything here." He mumbled, resting his head on top of hers.

"Well, she was right. I'm guessing that that was you and Happy, since all my fish seems to have disappeared. Damn cat!" Lucy let her hands slip to his shoulders, drawing circles in his skin, and, even though there was irritation in her tone, the chastising came out softly, almost like in a contempt whisper.

"You seem different." Natsu pointed out in a low, worried voice. "Are you hurt?" And his hands drifted from her waist to her arms with gentleness, so that he could feel the wound underneath the wraps.

"It's a light burn, nothing that I can't handle." She sighed, finally taking a step back to look at her friend's expression. He still seemed troubled, touching the edges of the bandages as if he wanted to see how bad it actually was.

"If I'd been there –" Lucy stopped him, yanking his scarf down.

"You would have helped the man burn down the entire village. And I needed to this alone, to prove to myself that I've grown. I'm fine, Natsu." The girl smiled, crouching a bit so she could meet his eyes. "I'm more than fine. I'm home."

He blinked at her words, still a bit confused about the tenderness in them. Letting his gaze take in the joy on her face, however, Natsu felt himself relax, finally accepting that there was nothing to be worried about. Happy was already flying around and asking about the mission, Lucy was safe, and Natsu…

He hesitated in his train of thought.

She was his. He was hers. And Natsu was home.

* * *

**I've been in a very Nalu week. I hope this is okay. It is pure fluff with a bit of what I hope you guys see as character study. The song is My Prettiest Friend, by Jason Mraz. This was written based on a somewhat old bonus prompt for Nalu Week, Home.**

**Review?**


	3. Winter Mornings

**Chapter 3: Winter Mornings**

_Your words like smoke, they made me sick but they kept me warm._

Lucy missed summer.

She missed the warmth that crept into her room and the way the morning breeze would come in through her window, filling her house with the scent of flowers and freshly cut grass from her neighbor's garden. Petals would somehow make their way to her floor, bright and yellow like the sun that would stare down at Magnolia during the day.

At night, she used a combination of fans and some of Gray's more complex works to soften the heat, and Lucy would sleep with her window open and in her favorite camisole. The temperature would decline with time, and she would wake up tangled in her sheets with the faces of her best friend and his exceed staring at her.

Despite the fright it never failed to give her, their presence was also a strange reminder of how comfortable the trio had become around each other, of all the good things that Magnolia had given her.

But winter always came, with strong winds and thunder storms that were completely different from the pouring rains that accompanied summer, and _snow_. It got _everywhere_, making _everything_ humid. Her apartment cracked with the cold and the days never seemed to last as long.

Yes, she liked wearing her big pajamas and hiding underneath her covers with hot tea and a book. Yes, she enjoyed the freshness of the season, and how it made the Guild feel warm and cozy.

Yet, Lucy missed the flowers and the yellow and sleeping with her window open.

He never came in the winter.

The celestial mage didn't understand why this simple fact affected her so much. She knew that Natsu would come if asked, and she knew that the only reasons he didn't visit were that the closed window made it difficult to sneak in and that moving across town with all that snow was quite a challenge for the small exceed.

However, she also wanted – irrationally – for them to make the effort to be with her.

Or maybe just Natsu. That would be fine, as well.

In her mind, Lucy made excuses. There was certainly no hidden cause for her sudden necessity to be around her best friend. Even suggesting such a thing would be preposterous, for there was nothing between them besides companionship and love. Love in the most innocent of ways, definitely not in a romantic sense.

"Oh, what am I thinking?" The girl shrieked into her pillow, rubbing her face against the soft fabric in an attempt to clear her head of such traitorous thoughts.

She should have gotten up hours earlier, but it was so cold outside of her bed that not even the prospect of breakfast had been enough incentive. Instead, Lucy had drunk the tea that was left from the previous night and attacked the pot of honey that was still sitting on her bedside table from being used to sweeten her tea.

It had been only after this that her mind had drifted to her partner, lamenting his absence on yet another morning. She could imagine the way his heat would feel against her cold body, the way he would brush away the frigidity of her fingers, rubbing them as he grinned and mocked her lack of control over her own temperature.

The image created had looked so domestic that one might even think it was a memory, like they woke up side by side every day, and Natsu would always take his time in making fun of her, but would also be sure that Lucy was well.

It had looked and felt common, but extremely desirable. And that freaked her out more than anything.

The blonde knew she shouldn't be thinking of her partner like that. What the boy had of loyal, he had of oblivious. She doubted he'd ever thought about what it would feel like to build a family with another person, sharing the kind of moments that only couples did. No, Natsu saw his friends as his family and he probably couldn't even understand the concept of hormones and sex.

The thought made a strange connection in her brain, and Lucy giggled, thinking about how his adored catch phrase "I'm all fired up!" could be used in a very different scenario.

She rolled in bed, turning to smile at her ceiling.

It was okay, she decided, to think such things when alone in her room.

It was okay to think of Natsu's face being there when she woke up, of the feeling of his body above and besides and under hers, of his voice and his scent and his warmth.

She could imagine a life with him, if she wanted to! There was no one there to recriminate her, no one to make her feel embarrassed of secretly desiring such comfort. A comfort that they'd both been denied when younger, and that he would probably welcome just as much as she did.

Lucy could see it in her mind, the two of them in bed on winter mornings. She wouldn't miss summer then, because he would find other ways to raise her temperature.

"Huh, Luce! You look flushed. Are you sick? Is that why you haven't gotten up?"

She opened her eyes quickly, taken by surprise for the first time in the entire month. Natsu was there, towering over her from his seat on the bed, wide eyes staring with concern and confusion.

The celestial mage choked on her thoughts and on her complaint, staggering over the abruptness of his arrival.

"N-Natsu! What on Earthland are you doing here?!" She sat up, grabbing the blankets to hide herself. The girl was suddenly very aware of the mess that her hair had become.

"Happy went to get some fish, so we had to go out anyway, and I thought it would be a good idea to see how you were going." He answered easily, and she peeked over the blanket to see his boyish grin.

Lucy wasn't convinced, but she lowered the covers and fixed her eyes on his.

"It was." She conceded. "But how did you get in? Everything is locked."

Natsu had the decency to look sheepish as he pulled out a key.

"Erza had it. I took it from her because I know you only gave Levy a copy for emergency reasons, and not for the others to find new ways into your house."

There was a sort of bashfulness to his expression that made him seem almost adorable to Lucy, and she had to bite her lip and twist her hands in the cover to stop herself from reaching out for him.

"She's going to kill you for that."

The boy shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"Nah. She respects you. And, if she does get angry, that is the perfect way to get her to fight me!"

Shaking her head and laughing, Lucy sunk deeper into her bed, extremely satisfied with this small change in her morning routine.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Natsu asked, eyeing her carefully.

"I'm fine." She sighed. "Just really, really cold."

Natsu snickered.

"_That_'s why you are still in bed?" He smirked and the insolence in his tone reminded the girl of the fantasies she'd been thinking of moments earlier. "Move over, you weirdo."

The dragon slayer joined her under the blankets, dropping an arm around her shoulders and pulling Lucy closer. The position wasn't exactly compromising, they were side by side, with their legs tangled, but it certainly didn't feel _friendly_.

With the proximity, Lucy felt a darker blush creeping into her face.

"See?" Natsu smiled at her, leaning down to bury his nose in her hair and making the girl shiver with how close his lips had gotten to her ear. She could hear his smugness, even if she couldn't see his expression. "Warmer already."

There were times when Lucy imagined how her life would be without Natsu, and she realized that the repulsion she felt towards that idea might mean she saw him as something more than a best friend.

There were times when Natsu would do things like these, that went against almost everything he usually was – harsh, impolite, clueless – and she thought that, maybe, he might see her as more than a best friend as well.

* * *

**The chapters are connected to each other and I'm trying to keep a steady flow of time. Please, tell me your opinions on how this is going so far. You can suggest themes, if you want. I also wanted to know if you guys would prefer for there to be a stronger link between the drabbles.**

**I guess this can count as part 1 of my fill for the Nalu Week Extra Prompt: Summer.**

**Thank you for reading this!**

**The song is Magnolia, by The Hush Sound.**


	4. Spring Comes

**Chapter 4: Spring Comes**

_Hold on to me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road. And although this wave is stringing us along, just know you're not alone. Cause I'm going to make this place your home._

"Are you ready to tell me your problem?"

Lucy Heartfilia looked up at the redheaded girl, blinking once and then twice before realizing that Erza Scarlet wasn't one to elaborate on her meanings.

"What?" Questioned the celestial mage in an unarticulated deadpan.

Her friend stared for a moment, seeming torn between sighing in exasperation or glaring at the other for her apparent obliviousness.

"You've been sitting there for an hour, frowning and mumbling without touching the cake Mirajane so kindly brought you." The blonde looked down, realizing that there was, indeed, a piece of strawberry cake sitting in front of her. "Will you vent your frustrations to me or should I be more persuasive?"

Lucy shrunk away from the ex-quip mage.

Erza was a formidable woman, of that there was no doubt. The mage rarely questioned herself, being always so sure of her abilities, of the abilities of her friends and of the motives behind their actions. Even in those things that frightened her, the redhead powered through, facing whatever it was head on. It was like this in battle and it was like this in her relationship with others.

In the same way she demanded respect, she also asked for trust.

Lucy exhaled deeply, turning more fully to Erza. She _had_ been moping around and sharing what was confusing her might make the problem seem simpler.

"It's not a big deal, really." The girl assured, but a light blush had already taken her cheeks. "For the past… Well, for the past two months, actually…" She hesitated. "Natsu may have been crashing at my place. A-and nothing happened, of course! He just helps with the cold, b-but it's almost spring."

Lucy drummed her fingers on the counter, risking glances at Erza every few seconds, only to see that the woman had set her lips in a thin line, but made no other move to express if she approved or not of such adjustments. It was hard to define what she would condemn and what she wouldn't, for the older mage had a very strange way of being conservative.

"So you want him out?" Came the determined voice of her friend, as if she was already preparing to kick Natsu out of the apartment on Strawberry Street.

Lucy's eyes grew wide as she took held of Erza's arm, pulling her back down to her stool.

"No, that's not what I meant!" She protested.

The redhead acquiesced, sitting once again and staring at the celestial mage with curiosity. It was unusual for the girl to be so patient with their invasion of her privacy, specially when it came to Natsu and his inability to distinguish what was acceptable to do near the opposite sex.

Erza admitted that none of them was as well versed in the particularities of social behavior as Lucy. While the blonde had grown up in finishing schools, receiving the best education that money could buy, most of her guildmates had been raised in Fairy Tail, in the middle of fights and among the wildest of Magnolia. They tried, but there was a lot about life outside of the guild that they didn't understand.

Sharing things came easily to them, one of the reasons why it wasn't all that odd for Erza to accept Natsu's presence in Lucy's home.

"But you dislike our insistent attendance to your apartment." She objected, tilting her head to the side.

The other was looking down at her cake, rolling a strawberry with her fork in an anxious manner.

"I don't dislike your presence, Erza. I like having you guys around. It's the surprise part of your visits that bother me." She chuckled softly, but it was as if her mind was focused on something else.

A breeze blew by them, bringing the scent of the magnolias that had already started to appear in the main street. Winter was finally giving place to spring and the temperatures were rising again. Soon, the rainbow sakuras would be blooming.

It was still quite cold, though. The snow had melted and the storms had long faded, but the wind continued to chill the town's inhabitants to the bone, making a somewhat interesting mix of people that went out with t-shirts and sandals, only to wrap themselves in heavy coats and scarves.

As the wind picked up, Lucy pulled her oversized sweater closer to her body.

"Is that why you don't mind that Natsu has been living in your apartment?" Erza questioned. "Because you _know_ that he'll be there?"

"I suppose." Lucy nodded, facing down to eat a piece of cake in an attempt to hide her flaming cheeks.

"Is that why you're wearing Natsu's clothing?"

The blonde choked.

"H-How did you know?"

She hadn't expected anyone to recognize that she was using one of the dragon slayer's sweaters. After that first time that the boy had joined his best friend in her bed, a week had passed of him not wanting to leave and her not wanting him to leave before Lucy decided to ask Natsu to stay for the season.

He had grinned and exclaimed that he hadn't been planning on leaving, and Happy had brought some things for them to be more at home, like clothes and food that would go to waste if they only left it there.

The celestial mage discovered that the pink haired boy did possess other sorts of clothing, like jumpers and pants, which he used only when he was going to sleep and only in the winter. Natsu said he could normally disperse heat, but that his temperature was already higher than average and that made him feel the cold more than normal people. He could use his power to liberate even more warmth, but there was really no need to do that when he could just put a shirt on.

The whole thing had seemed so logical that it shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did.

It still didn't explain how Erza knew.

"Before you came into our lives, someone had to make sure that those two wouldn't just drown in their own filth. I used to go to their house at least once a month to make them clean up a bit. Sometimes I helped them with the laundry, hence I'm aware of whose sweater that actually is."

Under the redhead's smug gaze, Lucy staggered with her words and her blush.

"I-it was just so warm! H-he'd already left with Happy a-and my coats are already dirty and –!" But Erza interrupted, raising a hand for her to stop talking.

"There's no need to explain yourself, Lucy." The blonde pouted, unsatisfied by the twinkle in her friend's eyes. "But your problem remains unclear."

Pausing as she opened her mouth to restart her protests, the girl decided otherwise, realizing that any further objection would only serve to reaffirm whatever conclusion Erza had already come up with.

Lucy sighed in defeat.

"I was just wondering if he will stay for spring, as well." She nibbled at her lower lip, unsure if she should continue. "It's been… nice, to have someone there every day."

The celestial mage wasn't being completely sincere. Having Natsu around her was nothing new, but the small routine of waking up together and going through the list of domestic chores that had to be done were things that brightened up her day, a little. It felt like she had gained someone to share her life with.

How frightening that thought was, though.

"I'm sure he will, if you ask."

The blonde eyed the ex quip mage for a moment, before turning back to gulp down her piece of cake.

"Why can't spring be over?" She mumbled into her plate, irritated with how dependent of his presence she'd become. The sooner Natsu went home, the sooner these inadequate thoughts would go away.

By her side, Erza smirked.

"Yes, we are all aware of how much you love the…" She snorted. "The summer."

Lucy didn't look up, choosing to glare at the cake's crumbles. The blonde didn't think Erza meant the season. (1)

* * *

**1. Natsu means summer in japanese.**

**This is the second part of my fill for the Nalu Week Bonus Prompt: Summer. I never seem to write things in their correct days.**

**Please, tell me what you think, because your input means a lot to me! Thank you so much to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed.**

**The song is Home, by Philip Philips.**


	5. Waking Up

**Chapter 5: Waking up and other problems**

_Let's go to the park, I wanna kiss you underneath the stars. Maybe we'll go too far. We just don't care._

Natsu hadn't known what he was getting himself into when he'd agreed to stay with Lucy during the winter.

Back then, the only thing on the boy's mind had been the wanting to be near his friend, to protect her and make her company on a season that left so many people feeling down.

As a fire element user, he had never liked the cold, even though he did enjoy playing in the snow occasionally. The low temperatures seemed to immerse Magnolia into a sort of calmness that only served to unnerve him and depress everybody else, something that he attributed to the lack of jobs that came with the closed roads and the shutdown train station.

Initially, things hadn't been all that different from their usual interactions. Since Natsu was always in her apartment anyway, eating her food and trying to sneak into her bed, the celestial mage had taken lightly to the small disturbance caused by two more individuals sharing her home. They were surprisingly used to each other's presence.

Waking up next to her was strange, in a good way. Her bed was comfortable and warm in the mornings, despite the chill that crept into her room during the night. He would open his eyes when it was still dark, feeling how Lucy had tangled herself with him as she slept, and this fact never failed to fill him with satisfaction.

After so many years of uncertainty and that ever present sensation that he needed to find home, those mornings had felt like finally finding something he was searching for; her acceptance and her unlimited trust in him reminded the boy of… Well, of family.

The blonde knew him better than anybody else. It was odd, but it was the truth. Not only because she had made the effort to befriend him, but because he had allowed her, despite all the pain he'd already gone through by losing Igneel and Lisanna.

In those moments before dawn, the dragon slayer thought about his life before Lucy, about what it would have been like if he hadn't met her all those years ago in Hargeon. He traced the lines of her face with his eyes, not daring to move, even in his half asleep state, and imagined how it would feel to wake up with her by his side every day.

Those were dangerous thoughts, he knew, but, in that half-light and with Lucy in his arms, he couldn't bring himself to care.

There were other things, of course.

Lucy had started to devise chores for him and Happy, saying that they might as well help her around the apartment. Soon, the groceries had turned into his duty while she did the cooking and Happy tidied up the place. Once a week, the girl would boss them around as the three cleaned everything, before taking them out for dinner as a reward for their good work.

The domesticity of it all had gone over Lucy's head, but it certainly hadn't escaped Natsu's suddenly growing awareness of everything related to their interactions. At the same time that it made him feel uneasy, it also brought him a sort of joy he couldn't remember feeling ever before.

The pink haired boy had always known that Lucy was special to him. She had found a way into his affections quickly, turning into his best friend when no one else in the guild – people he had known since they were kids – had been able to. It was something that everybody noticed and talked about, but Natsu hadn't given their words any real thought.

At least, not until he woke up one morning to Lucy half on top of him, her leg between his and her lips against the side of his neck.

The haziness of sleep had disappeared in a second, turning into wide eyes and a racing heart. The heat of his body in that moment had nothing to do with his magical abilities and was, instead, a direct effect of feeling her figure against his, all soft and lean and oh so close. The dragon slayer had tried to control his breathing, but found out that focusing on his lungs made him focus on his chest and on her chest and the thoughts only deteriorated from that point.

It had taken an amount of self-control that Natsu hadn't even known he possessed, as well as some mental images of Gray and Elfman and Makarov, for his – ugh! – _problem _to go away.

When Lucy woke up, he – as always – pretended to be sleeping so that she could keep her dignity as she tried to remove her limbs from his, embarrassment coloring her cheeks red.

From that day on, however, things only seemed to get worse.

There was not a day when he didn't wake up hard from his dreams and her touches, as his body yearned for those things that until then Natsu had tried to keep out of his mind, fantasies conjured in those hours before daybreak that he still refused to accept as an existing part of himself.

But the sun was out and there he was.

The boy blinked and groaned as he watched Lucy bend over once more, touching her palms to the ground and trying to stretch out her back. She was oblivious to his stare, too involved in her work out to spare him a look. Virgo, however, seemed to alternate between helping the mage into the stances and smirking in his direction.

"Why are you doing this again?" He questioned, trying to disguise his anxiety. His trousers were already starting to feel a bit constricted.

The blonde exhaled heavily, modifying her position so that her body formed an inverted v.

"This one is called 'downward facing dog', princess." The celestial spirit informed helpfully, before sending Natsu a look full of smugness.

"Yes, yes, thank you." Lucy uttered breathlessly, trying to focus her eyes on Natsu despite her stance. "It's yoga. It helps me train my mind and body, which is exactly what my magic requires."

The boy almost huffed irritably, realizing that her shirt had moved down with gravity, exposing her stomach to his eyes as well. The combination of it was a very sexy looking celestial mage with tight fitted clothes, messy hair and flushed skin, in a position that did nothing to reduce his mental catalogue of ways he could touch her.

Which was bad. Really bad.

Damn, this was his best friend! Why was he acting like the hormonal teenager he never was?

He could already hear the jabs from everyone on the guild, laughing and teasing him about how he had finally become a man, even if it'd taken him twenty one years. Mira and Lisanna would be terrible, with those knowing looks and all that interfering that he really didn't understand the reason behind. Gajeel would disappear from sight, since he was probably the only one that could understand the upbringing that had led Natsu to this sort of cluelessness and, by being so, would be bombarded with questions from the more curious mages (also known as Levy).

It would be a living hell if they found out.

"Your body looks fine." He mumbled under his breath, sulking. "That's kind of the problem."

"Did you say something?" The girl asked, her ponytail swinging adorably as she, once again, tried to look at him. Receiving silence as an answer, she continued. "You could always join me if you're bored."

For a second, Natsu considered her suggestion. Maybe if he busied himself with something, his mind wouldn't drift to those lewd subjects…

"Oh, yes, I believe there are some movements that require a second individual." Interjected Virgo. Her face was blank as she moved her gaze from Lucy to Natsu, but the boy thought he could see mischief in her eyes.

He was almost certain that the spirit was meeting up with Happy in order to bother him about these newly found hormones.

The dragon slayer felt himself pale as he imagined what kind of positions he would end up if Virgo had her way. Lucy was, after all, a beautiful woman, and his attraction towards her had increased strangely and abruptly since he decided to prolong his stay in her home. No matter how much control he had, there was no way he was going to put himself in a situation that could lead to a lot of embarrassment and most probably Lucy's anger.

"No, I'm okay."

Natsu knew that moving from his sit on her couch and touching her would be a bad, bad idea.

But no one could blame him for looking.

* * *

**Ok, ok. This was kind of shameless, but it was sort of a gift to the dearest _Carols_, who is a bit younger than me and a lot more of a pervert. I was also trying to explain how Natsu's feelings are changing and taking up a more physical aspect. Things will probably slow down a bit in the next chapter.**

**Please, review and give me your opinions! They matter!**

**The song is PDA by John Legend and I absolutely love it.**


	6. An Unexpected Visitor

**Chapter 6: An Unexpected Visitor**

_And do you still think love is a laserquest? Or do you take it all more seriously?_

There were few things about his guild mates that still surprised Gray Fullbuster.

After years of being a part of Fairy Tail and getting to know those people, the icemake mage had started to predict some of their actions, like how they would react to a certain chain of events or how their interactions would go.

Some he knew better than others. He had, after all, grown up with them by his side. Erza and Natsu had been present since the beginning, as annoying siblings who only served to make his life a little harder. Mira was another one that he'd gotten to know pretty well, with her two extreme sides and her unusual meddling (a characteristic shared with her little sister). Cana, Elfman, Gildarts, Laxus, Makarov… They were his family.

Fairy Tail, however, was anything but stagnant. As time went by, more and more people joined their ranks, adding up to the general wildness and lack of control that their guild was famous for.

Lucy Heartfilia came as an unexpected twist to their story.

She was much calmer than most of their mages, preferring to solve conflicts by discussion instead of her fists. Lucy was brains and looks, much like many of their female colleagues, but with a pacifist streak that detached her from the others. Without meaning to, the girl affected them all, giving them a new reason to reunite under the name of Fairy Tail.

The fire that had already been there, that mixed their difficult pasts and their need to make the world a better place, was only enlivened by her kindness.

Still, she wasn't far from what Gray had imagined her to be. Her "weirdness" – as Natsu would call it – was lessened when compared to Juvia's abnormal behavior and Gajeel's bipolarity.

No, what was most surprising about Lucy was the result of her friendship in Natsu.

The pink haired boy had always been incredibly attached to the guild, as it had come to be his home after Igneel disappeared. Being abandoned by his father made the dragon slayer cling to Fairy Tail as his safe heaven, to its people as his family, because, to put it simply, they really were all he had.

Rash and boisterous, Natsu was also wary of being left once again. Except for Happy – and maybe Lisanna, once upon a time –, he had never let himself get too close to anyone, for fear that losing someone else could make his universe collapse.

Which was why Gray had never expected Lucy and Natsu to become partners, much less best friends.

After their first missions, the icemake mage started to accompany them, curious about what had suddenly changed in his "almost brother but definite rival" to make him accept a newcomer so easily. He didn't find his answer, but, instead, made a really good friend and ended up with a really good team.

Just one of those not-what-you-wanted-but-what-you-needed situations.

It wasn't until late winter, about three months after Natsu's birthday party, that Gray finally understood.

As he'd done several times prior, the dark haired boy burst into Lucy's apartment, looking for a place to hide out for the afternoon; Juvia had been looking for him for some reason and, as much as he liked the mage, he remained unsure of how to respond to her advances. So Strawberry Street it had been.

Lucy was one of his best friends and, despite her temper, she was always open to talking and killing time, seeming to understand his "emotional barrier" – seriously, where did she get these terms from? – when it came to love. Differently from Erza, the blonde didn't push him into taking action, and Gray was thankful for the distraction she provided with her infinite list of complaints, gossip and intelligent remarks.

So, when he walked into her bedroom to find Natsu sprawled across her bed and no sign of Lucy, it was the first time in years when Gray felt completely baffled.

"Flame brain?" He inquired, his face contorting into a grimace of shock.

The dragon slayer sat up languidly, frowning at the nickname, before his eyes widened.

"Stripper?! What are you doing here?"

The pink haired idiot stared at him, confused, but without any real animosity in his eyes.

"I'm visiting a friend." Gray rolled his eyes, trying to resume his composure. "What about _you_?" He crossed his arms over his chest, noticing that he'd somehow lost his shirt. "I don't see Lucy around."

Natsu blinked once, looking to the side in an obvious attempt to seem nonchalant.

"Lucy went shopping with Levy, she'll be back in an hour or so." The other mumbled, an expression in his face that made Gray falter.

"Are you – Are you pouting?!" Such an observation only served to make a light blush appear in his friend's cheeks, as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't.

"What are you talking about, you damn ice bastard?" Natsu barked from his seat on Lucy's bed. "Put a shirt on!"

Ignoring the provocations, however, Gray approached the boy, analyzing him with a look of uncertainty.

"Cut the act, Natsu." He replied, surprising himself with the civility of his words. "Why are you here, if Lucy isn't? We both know that you would normally prefer the guild or even your house to this empty apartment."

The serious tone he had adopted made the other boy turn back to him, dark eyes shifting between his face and the ground. Natsu looked… sheepish?

"I've been crashing here."

His half assed explanation only created more questions in Gray's mind, and the icemake mage scrunched up his eyebrows, bringing a hand to his temple as if that information had truly messed up with his brain.

"For how long?" He pressed the subject, his voice portraying his perplexity.

Natsu scratched his neck, eyes full of innocence. Although his face showed only signs of cluelessness, Gray still remembered the pink that had adorned his cheeks moments earlier.

"Just the winter."

At this, something in the mage's mind snapped and he felt his surprise melt into understanding.

"It's almost spring." He muttered. "You're saying you've basically… moved in?"

Unaware of the things that were going on in his rival's thoughts, Natsu merely grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I guess you're right!" The boy laughed. "Who would have guessed there was some rationality in that frozen head of yours?"

The insult registered, but Gray couldn't bring himself to care. Instead, he smirked, shaking his head at how much of an idiot that boy could be.

He had left his house and found a new home with Lucy, letting go of any possible fear of losing her. It was a pattern in his behavior towards the blonde, but it had never seemed clearer than at this moment. It wasn't a matter of getting close to others, but the realization that Natsu had actually allowed himself to build a life that wasn't just Fairy Tail. Afar from the guild, he had created a universe that was his.

No. Not only is. _Theirs_.

Had the dragon slayer even noticed what he was doing? Living for something besides the missions and finding Igneel? And on that note, how long had it been since he'd actively searched for his father?

Natsu was changing in ways Gray couldn't have predicted, and it was all because of the wild card: Lucy.

Talking about cards, Cana had mentioned something like that, hadn't she? A fateful encounter, written on her cards, that would alter the celestial mage's life for good. But their friend had said that encounter had already happened, being the moment she'd met Natsu.

Maybe she was right. Maybe things had started to shift since that first day, taking them to where they were now. With a happy, but too naïve for his own good, Natsu Dragneel and a very cocky Gray Fullbuster.

"Do me a favor, will you, scaly idiot?" The icemake mage paused, amused by the situation. "Give Lucy a message when she gets back."

Natsu glared, eyeing the boy's smirk with distrust.

"What message?"

Gray walked to the door, stopping at the frame to glance back at the dragon slayer.

"Tell her that I may keep a wall of trust issues, but she is the one who will have to deal with a whole lot of denseness if she still wants that happily ever after."

* * *

**Sorry for the wait!**

**I'm Brazilian and I'm not sure if you guys already know this, but our country has been going through some manifestations concerning the level of corruption of our government, the expenses with the World Cup, and the increased cost of living. I've been kind of busy trying to keep up with all the information and trying to participate in the protests.**

**The song is Love is a laserquest, by Arctic Monkeys.**

**I brought Gray into this chapter because I'm just crazy happy that he is alive!**

**To those who didn't understand his message: He is talking about how Lucy says he has an emotional barrier, but she will be the one having to break through a wall of denseness (Natsu).**

**Thank you for reading, please review!**


	7. The Hanami Party

**Chapter 7: The Hanami Party**

_We can sing right along with the thunder, we can be who we wanna be, and we'll never have to worry or wonder. The only thing we gotta believe is that we can't stop now or we're never gonna see everything you want and everything you need. We'll live while we're young and we'll do it 'cuz we're wild and free._

"Natsu, will you stop with the twirling?"

The girl asked, laughing. Blonde strands flew around her face as she moved, being propelled by her partner's arms as the boy tried to mimic whatever dance Mirajane and Laxus were attempting to teach the crowd at the moment.

"But it's fun, Luce!"

In between spins, she could see his expression, the childish grin that took Natsu's face, and she couldn't help but share his joy.

Few were the times when the entire guild was able to gather and relax for a day, without the threat of some enemy or the anxiety that the absence of a friend brought. As mages, every mission could mean a danger too great to be outdone. On those days, fear and death were always there, hidden somewhere in their minds, as if fate itself was trying to tell them to beware.

But not today.

Today the rainbow sakuras were blooming and everyone was safe.

The Hanami Party got bigger every year, or that's what Mirajane Strauss had told Lucy earlier that day, while the two girls weaved flower crowns for their friends. Tourists were attracted to Magnolia by the event and it was their responsibility to make sure everything went as planned, because it helped maintain the natives' approval of Fairy Tail.

Lucy had seen the flowers before; only once, on her first year as a guild member. Her life had always been hurried, but the last few years were filled with an amount of drama that only served to make the girl enjoy even more these little moments of calmness. After so long in Magnolia, she was especially happy to finally join the festival.

The dancing was unexpected, but interesting.

Lisanna had gone around pairing people up, bribing and blackmailing members into the activity. She was obviously taking advantage of her role as coordinator to boss the others around, but nobody seemed to mind all that much. Spring had finally come, the sky was clear and the sakuras were beautiful; how could they find it in themselves to be grouchy?

At first, dancing with Natsu had bothered Lucy. The proximity was unnerving and he obviously wasn't quite sure of his movements, stepping over the tip of her boots every now and then, but the sway of the music had, eventually, soothed them into a rhythm that worked for both.

Until the song changed, of course, and she was suddenly being rotated around the grass, breathless with all the twists and tugs that Natsu insisted on doing. He had a unique way to move, not really caring about how ridiculous they might look.

The dragon slayer embraced her from behind, spinning in a way that made her feet fly off the ground.

"Natsu!" She called out, trying and failing to disguise the joy in her voice.

When he let her down, they continued on the same position, her head resting against his shoulder.

"I'm so glad we could come." He muttered against her hair. "It's been so long since we did something just for the fun of it."

Lucy smiled, closing her eyes and humming back an agreement.

"You look peaceful." Natsu pointed out, grinning like the fool he usually was.

"I _feel_ peaceful." She replied, tilting her head just enough to see his eyes. They were focused on her face, warm and relaxed, but more serious than she was accustomed. It did strange things to her insides, making her stomach turn and heat rush up to her cheeks.

The girl cleared her throat to disguise her embarrassment, lowering her head so that she was staring at their shoes.

"You're acting weird again, guys." Happy exclaimed, appearing from the crowd of civilians that still tried to emulate Mira's dance.

Behind her, Natsu merely laughed, keeping his grip on her as Lucy reached out to hit the exceed.

"What are you saying, you meddling cat?!" She grumbled under her breath, glaring at the animal. Oblivious to her irritation, he flew around the two partners, commenting on what he'd seen of the party so far.

"Gajeel is being scary. He swatted me away when I went to talk to Lily! Just because we were playing!"

This seemed to get Natsu's attention, for the boy leaned closer to Lucy, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I told ya to be discreet when pranking the metallic idiot." He moved a bit, using the girl's body to hide himself. "Nin-nin!"

This earned them laughter from Lucy, her hands covering Natsu's over her stomach.

"You are absurd, sometimes." She taunted.

The dragon slayer pouted, nuzzling the back of her neck as she continued to laugh.

"Yeah, and you are weird." He countered, smiling and pulling her body to his, lightly tickling her sides.

This sort of scene had started to happen more and more since Natsu first moved in. They were so used to each other that the little touches and the intimacy that came with sharing an apartment didn't seem like much. They had always been close, so what was the matter with some hugs?

It didn't even occur to them how it might look for outsiders.

Lucy, somewhere in her overactive mind, knew that they shouldn't be so comfortable around each other. It wasn't normal for best friends to share a bed, nor for them to be so… touchy. But Natsu was Natsu. He obviously had no idea that his actions could be considered romantic advances. As long as she reminded herself of that, everything would be ok, because she wouldn't let herself fall for him.

The fact that she had to keep that in mind, however, should have been a wakeup call to the fact that, maybe, it was already too late.

As smart as Lucy Heartfilia could be, she was also quite clueless.

"You liiike each other!" Happy chanted, before running off to protect himself from Lucy's exasperation.

Still, his actions had attracted attention to the pair and that was the moment that Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet chose to appear.

"The two of you _have_ been awfully close these last few weeks." The exquip mage's statement was what finally made the two partners pull apart, stuttering and blushing. The woman didn't seem to notice, because she continued to eat her cake, eyes darting around the festival, taking in the people that danced and talked.

By her side, Gray rolled his eyes.

"You were actually dancing, flame brain? That's almost worse than what you did that first time." He turned to Erza. "Do you remember? He uprooted one of the rainbow sakura trees."

The embarrassment in Natsu's face quickly turned to anger and the boy moved forward, taking hold of the collar of Gray's shirt.

"Are you trying to get my fist in your face, pantless?"

Alerted by the insult, the dark haired boy looked down to realize that he had indeed lost his pants somewhere around the festival. He muttered a "What the hell?!" while looking around, but didn't let that stop him from grabbing Natsu's scarf in an aggressive manner.

Watching the scene, Lucy sighed, but said nothing, for she was still recovering from the redness that covered her cheeks.

"Are the two of you fighting?" Asked Erza. Her tone carried an underlying threat, even though she hadn't even looked up from her slice of cake, and the two rivals immediately let go of each other, smiling as if nothing had happened. "Natsu, I was actually looking for you. Master wanted your help with the barbecue."

Tuning out their conversation, Gray approached Lucy, smirking at her in a way that made the girl feel suspicious.

"What do you want?" She questioned, grabbing something from her bag and offering it to him. "And put these on, there are children in here."

The boy accepted the spare set of pants.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I really hadn't noticed." He grinned sheepishly, before continuing. "And I don't want anything. I was just wondering when you would finally tell ash-for-brains over there that you want to kiss _his_ pants off."

His nonchalant way of saying such things had always irritated Lucy, but never more than at this moment. She punched his arm, making sure to actually hurt him for once.

"He is right there! Will you stop with these stupid provocations?!" Her words didn't seem to have much of an effect, because the boy snickered, massaging his arm.

"Like he would mind." Gray countered, lifting an eyebrow at her.

"Like he would understand." Lucy laughed bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing at the pink haired boy.

The ice-make mage shook his head.

"Natsu may be an idiot, but he is still a guy. Do you really think he never considered sex?" He ran a hand through his hair, smirking once again. "No, scratch that. Do you really think he never considered sex _with you_?" The scandalized look on her face made him laugh. "Seriously, I'm one hundred per cent certain that he has."

For a moment, Lucy wasn't sure what to answer to that. It wasn't like she wanted Natsu to go around fantasizing about her, but she couldn't deny that the idea of him finding her attractive was… interesting. She had found herself thinking about him sexually more than once, especially since he started to go around her apartment half naked. And they were young adults, after all.

"I don't need this right now, Gray." She replied, palming her face in distress.

Her friend shrugged.

"I thought he was going to be dense, but you are just plain oblivious, aren't you?"

This time, his teasing was met with an elbow to his ribs, and the boy decided to just let the subject drop.

* * *

"I never thanked you for that day, did I?"

They were lying on the ground by one of the sakura trees. The party had ended an hour before, but the two had decided to sneak out with a bit of the cake and let the cleaning for those who hadn't helped in the setting up of the Hanami Party.

Lucy had her head against his chest, her fingers tracing patterns across his abdomen, as he tried to recount the constellations above. They had spent the last ten minutes like this, with the girl trying to teach Natsu something about the stars.

The dragon slayer had enveloped her with his arms, sharing his warmth when the chill of the night started to become too much for the blonde. She wasn't as scantily dressed as usual, having brought one of his sweaters to keep her from the wind, but nothing beat the heat of his body against hers.

It brought forth sensations that Lucy still tried to deny, like the tingling she felt in her skin at his every touch, or the knot that formed on her throat. They were signs of something that the girl wasn't completely aware yet, something that she preferred to remain unperceptive to.

"What day?" Natsu chuckled. "You're not making sense again, Luce."

She hadn't been making much sense for some time now, had she? It always seemed to go back to this, to the not understanding and not wanting to understand.

It was official, she liked drama much more when it was only in her books.

"I'm talking about the first Hanami Party, when I couldn't come." She smiled, turning in his arms so she could see his expression. "I've always known it had been you and Happy that uprooted the tree. There was no one else crazy enough."

_Nor anyone who cared as much._

For a moment, Natsu looked like he was going to deny everything, and then he sighed and grinned. He was embarrassed, she could tell, but there was something in the lines of his face that didn't look as kid-like as it usually did. In the light of the moon, he looked older, more mature than she'd ever realized him to be.

Gray's words from earlier filled her mind, and Lucy felt her face getting hotter. She was no stranger to sexual themes, but all her knowledge came from books, not experience. The idea that Natsu saw her as a woman also rose the notion that, if she wanted, she could try something with him and he wouldn't reject her.

_What am I thinking?!_, she questioned herself.

However, curiosity had awakened within her, along with a heat that had more to do with the feel of Natsu's body against hers than with its warmth.

"We just wanted to make you feel better." The boy explained, propping himself up with an elbow. She followed his movement, tangling her legs with his and bringing the hand that had been tracing his chest up to his nape, where she started to play with strands of his hair.

"I figured." Her reply came a moment later, breathless, after noticing she'd been staring at him.

The dragon slayer groaned, closing his eyes, when she made a certain motion in his hair. The sound made her tremble, as she felt the muscles of his chest contracting under her body.

_Is he imagining that right now?_

Lucy didn't know what she was about to do. She felt nervous, but in a good way, slowly pushing herself up so her lips could reach his.

"Guys?" A voice shouted from somewhere near. "Natsu? Lucy? We're going back to the guild!"

It was Gray.

His call snapped the celestial mage out of her distraction, making her freeze, before pulling away from the boy. Natsu opened his eyes lazily, staring into her brown ones with an emotion that Lucy couldn't determine.

"We should probably go." She murmured, blinking and lowering her gaze to her hands.

"Yeah." His voice was hoarse and he licked his lips, but made no move to get up.

"Flame head, where the fuck are you?" Gray was nearer, and clearly annoyed.

Struggling a bit, the blonde stood up. She could feel the blush that still tinted her complexion, but she smiled nonetheless, suddenly very satisfied with herself and with the reaction she had achieved from Natsu.

She turned to him, disguising her mirth as well as she could.

"Let's go home."

* * *

**So... I'm not sure what inspired this. I just felt like mixing fluff and something more mature, even though I said two chapters ago that I would be going back to lighter situations.**

**I'm really happy with this chapter, though. I hope everyone likes it!**

**If you guys ask me nicely, I may even do some extra chapters involving the Nalu Week Prompts!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	8. What Tomorrow May Bring

**Chapter 8: What Tomorrow May Bring**

_I've got a little confession: I don't know what I'm doing. But if you want, you can play along. Maybe I'll wake to find that I went and blew it, but 'til I do, I'll keep going strong._

Their friendship had been a weird little thing since the beginning.

Lucy Heartfilia had been pampered her entire life. She'd had the best dresses, the best teachers and had always been around people who would protect her of whatever dangers could come. Even as a kid, she never had the possibility of bruised knees or stupid accidents, for she was never allowed such small pleasures.

Her path was determined very soon. She would be the link that connected all of her father's exploits, the one thing that would make sure the Heartfilia concern would preserve its prestige for years to come.

What was this big role of hers?

A wife.

Her childhood had been filled with the most common aspects of a _girl_'s life: etiquette, cooking, sewing and learning how to manage a household. When little, Lucy found happiness in these teachings, thinking that she could someday be like her mother.

Thinking that maybe then her father would love her again.

As the girl grew up, she started to notice little things about the society she'd been born in.

All the knowledge she'd gained had contributed to her already sharp mind, and Lucy, at her fifteen years old, was much more intelligent than most of the females she was allowed to befriend. It allowed her to be witty and sarcastic without seeming impolite, and mocking others without them perceiving it became a sort of relief from all the stress she was put through.

Something that usually came from the more uncomfortable part of the things she observed.

In her father's parties, she was little more than a pretty object.

People – especially men – would look at her without shame, analyzing all that had changed in the angles of her face, in the curves of her body. They were relentless in their comments, as well, making compliments or suggestions that only served to make Lucy feel self-conscious.

Who were these people to stare at her, to say things about her hair or her waist or her _bust_? She was a child still, immersed in a world that was slowly becoming a living nightmare.

In time, the blonde started to recognize something different in the eyes of the more daring men, the ones that would slip a hand to the small of her back when they danced or those who insisted that a glass of wine was everything she needed to _loosen up_.

They weren't staring. They were leering.

She didn't welcome the idea of marriage anymore, for all she could think when her father mentioned such plans was of hands that she wouldn't be allowed to escape from or keys that would be locked up somewhere so she couldn't run away.

And run away she did, before it was too late.

When they met, the first thing Lucy understood about the boy was that Natsu Dragneel was different from anyone she'd ever encountered before.

He ate like a Neanderthal, letting crumbs fall to his clothes, he laughed loudly and he didn't care about the glares he received from the people around them. He didn't smell of sweat – as most men that bothered her around the cities did – or of cologne; his scent was something similar to campfires and wax, like a candle after being blown out. He didn't look at her breasts, not even once.

And, for some reason, she adored him for it.

Finding out that he was from Fairy Tail came as a surprise, but it was a good one.

After years of dealing with lecherous guys and people who only wanted to take advantage of her money, status or body, Natsu was like breathing fresh air for the first time.

So she ran with him, accepting the hand – and the offer – he'd extended.

Natsu was raised by a dragon, Igneel, who he saw as his father. He had never known who his biological parents were, but he never seemed to care about it. There were more important things to worry about, like Fairy Tail, or getting into and out of trouble, or finding out where the heck Igneel had disappeared to.

Where Lucy was carefully made plans and looking before leaping, the boy was all impulses, doing whatever came to mind without a second thought about it. He never even tried to pretend that he knew what he was doing, unabashed when things went wrong and a grinning mess when they went right.

This, too, was something that surprised Lucy.

She had met a lot of strange people after running away from home, distinct personalities that had been added to the ones she'd encountered among her father's friends. They mixed in her mind, because none of them had ever truly caught her attention. Good, bad, true, false; there were extremes and in betweens and shades of gray, but she wanted _colors_.

Lucy supposed Natsu was exactly that.

He came into her life in a blur of pink colored hair and white pants against the night sky with a flying blue cat, crashing through wood and giving her hope when everything seemed lost.

(Bora was one of _those_ guys, too well tailored clothes and a smirk that spoke of things he wanted to do against her will.)

Natsu was also the green from the forest in which his house was built, and the red from the blood they'd spilled in their battles, and the orange of his flames, and…

And the rainbow from the sakura blossoms as they drifted across the river that passed her apartment, looking every bit as beautiful as they would many years past that moment, when descending towards the two of them as she almost kissed him under the tree after the Hanami Party.

Lucy opened her eyes to the darkness of her room, suddenly very much awake in spite of the fact that the sun hadn't even started to rise.

Natsu was there, as well, wrapped around her in a way that made blood rush up to her cheeks for something that was both pleasure and embarrassment. There was a leg between hers and arms that enveloped her waist, a nose touching the junction of her shoulder and neck, and something hard pressing against her tight.

She wanted to scream.

Not because he was clearly overstepping his boundaries, nor because they were friends and friends weren't supposed to cuddle like this, finding warmth and security in each other's touches. No, instead she wanted to scream out of frustration, because she was the one that saw things through, the one who planned out every move before actually doing anything, so what the hell _was_ she doing?

The blonde had known for a long time now that her feelings for Natsu were growing into something more than what she let on. For years, he had been her best friend, a constant in a life full of surprises and loneliness, but times were changing.

The fates were cruel.

The things he did for her that initially had simply seemed adorable were starting to do strange things to her heart. His joy was infectious, making her smile even when all else was going wrong. He would hug her from behind, throw an arm around her shoulders, press a kiss to her forehead, and Lucy would think that maybe… Maybe he felt something changing as well.

But she couldn't say it.

The words in her mind scrambled together, they ran through her head as they'd always done. Overthinking, overimagining, overreacting. They confused her so much – _he_ confused her so much – that Lucy almost thought it would be better to pretend there was nothing there.

She turned in bed, moving to her side and bringing her face closer to his.

Afraid, the celestial mage made excuses. Natsu wouldn't understand her, because he was still too much of a child. Even the way his body responded to hers was just a product of his physiology, when his will was clouded by unconsciousness. There was no way that he was attracted to her.

It was harder to deny it, though, when the proof that he was indeed a young man was right there, against her hip.

It made strange things to _her_ body.

"Lucy?"

The girl opened her eyes to find his half-lidded ones staring back.

"H-Hey." She stuttered out, trying to disguise her alertness.

"Sleep." Natsu muttered groggily, sighing as he pressed his face between her collarbone and the mattress. "Too early."

The panic that had started to well up in her mind diminished as she felt his breathing against her skin, the in-and-out that symbolized how the boy wasn't the least bit bothered about their positions. He was warm and vulnerable, hugging her like a sort of security blanket that he draped over himself.

For the first time in a very long time, Lucy realized how much trust he had in her, because she doubted he would ever expose himself so fully to anyone else.

Lucy had no idea what she'd done to deserve his friendship, nor his protection. Since the beginning, he'd been there for her, being the exact opposite of what she'd learned to expect from others. He'd been tactless and rash, destructive and loyal, and not the least bit attracted to her.

Which made it completely unfair for her to be this attracted to him.

The blonde moved a hand to his hair, tenderly playing with his locks as she started to drift back to sleep.

She had no idea what would happen to them. There were no clues in the way he acted; he hadn't rejected her, back in the Hanami Party, but she still didn't know if his inanity came from willingness or just cluelessness.

Since they were talking about Natsu, her opinion tended to the latter.

The following morning, she would pretend she knew everything once again. She would smile and laugh and act like she had her whole life figured out, even if it was just for show. Tomorrow was a mystery, as long as he was there to ruin her plans and fill her with doubts.

As the smell of wax invaded her senses, Lucy realized she didn't mind it at all.

* * *

**Yey, new chapter! I'm trying to create links between them and maybe even a story line, but these are still drabbles, so don't kill me.**

**The song is Make it up, by Sam Tsui, which I highly recommend. It's really uplifting.**

**Thank you for everybody who has followed/favorited/reviewed so far. It really does mean a lot to me!**


	9. A Tale about Parts

**Chapter 9: A Tale about Parts (She is part of him)**

_And you should never cut your hair 'cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder. And you will never know just how beautiful you are to me, but maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up._

"I have no idea what you're doing, Salamander, but you probably should stop before someone ends up hurt."

Natsu had been sitting by the bar, gulping down a plate of fire food that Mirajane had set in front of him moments before, when Gajeel approached him. It was still quite early, and the guild hall didn't have its usual flare, nor the noisiness that came with the abundance of Fairy Tail members, so there was no one to witness the oddity that was about to take place.

The arrival of the iron dragon slayer made something akin to suspicion etch into the other's expression, and the boy frowned when he turned to face Gajeel. They rarely ever talked, unless it had to do with a mission or theories about what might have happened to their dragons. Even then, the two never truly tried to maintain civility.

So the tired tone that the man had adopted was enough to put Natsu on edge.

"What are you talking about, metal head?"

There was something strange in the twist of his lips, the pink haired boy decided, like frustration or _worry_. But that wasn't possible, because the pierced mage had made it quite clear that there were few things he truly cared about, and Natsu definitely hadn't made into that list.

It was unsettling, this scenario they had constructed. The solemnness of it didn't suit them at all.

"I'm here to help you, flame brain, so shut your trap and listen." He pulled the chair next to Natsu's, sitting down and leaning over the counter to make sure that Mira still hadn't come back.

There was a moment of silence in which he seemed to think about what his next words would be. There weren't many reasons that could get Gajeel to act like that, a fact that only deepened the other's curiosity and uneasiness. The pinkette wasn't known for his patience, after all.

"You and I…" He began. "We were raised by dragons. We learnt about loyalty for life and all that bullshit."

The man stopped, glancing at Natsu with a look full of annoyance, like he preferred to be doing anything but talking to him.

"Phantom didn't have my devotion, but Fairy Tail does. It just never felt right there." He grumbled out. "But that is not what I'm talking about." Gajeel brought a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes before continuing. "Nakama is one thing. A mate is something entirely different."

Natsu was glad he'd stopped eating once Gajeel decided to join him, because he was sure he would have choked with those last words.

"What?!"

The other growled, irritated by his loudness.

"You heard me right. Your mate. If you want to use the normal term, a girlfriend. Metalicana was a freaking sap with that sort of thing. One and only and all that. I'm guessing Igneel was the same." Natsu tried to look away, to disguise the rush of color that had taken his cheeks, but Gajeel saw it. "Yeah, thought so."

They didn't talk for some time.

There was a chill in the air of the morning, like spring was still settling in after the gruesome winter. That explanation wasn't far from the truth, of course. The snow was long gone, but the weather that past week had been shifting between light rain and warm afternoons. The nights were somewhat hot, but the dawn came with wet pavements and a coldness that made their bones ache.

As a shiver ran up his spine, Natsu was reminded of Lucy and how he wouldn't be there when she woke up. She would probably be sleeping in, still too lazy to give up the comfortable heat of her covers. The boy wished he could be there with her, feeling irritated that the Master had ordered him to help Mira with the preparations of the day as a punishment for burning down another house in his previous mission.

Lucy had been so angry…

"You're thinking about her right now, aren't you?" The man by his side barked out with a laugh. "Smiling like a fool because of bunny girl."

Natsu glared at him, pushing away from the counter and digging his fingers into the soft wood, but there was no way to hide his blush.

"I'm not!" He argued, like a child, but the denial sounded empty even to himself.

"So you're becoming self aware…" Gajeel commented, lifting an eyebrow. His expression carried amusement, like the whole thing was just a big joke. "I gotta say I'm surprised. I imagined you'd be ripping heads and hoarding her before you recognized the damn thing as attraction."

He'd heard that before, something about a dragon's hoard. Igneel used to say that they were extremely possessive about the things they cared about and that he was almost sure the boy would grow up with that same sense of ownership over the people he loved.

Natsu blinked twice before letting go of the counter. He had already seen traces of that possessiveness in himself; Happy was his, Fairy Tail was his, Lucy was his. They were part of what he called home and there was no way the dragon slayer would let others hurt his nakama.

"I don't hoard anyone." He muttered, frowning. Gajeel was probably the last person on earthland he would want to have this conversation with.

The other chuckled, grabbing a piece of iron from within his pocket and nibbling at it.

"Sure you do. I hoard shrimp, you hoard bunny girl. You can't think we spent so much time with those irritating dragons without picking up some of their traces, especially since they were the ones to teach us dragon slaying magic. The nature of our magic comes from them." He glanced at Natsu, eyes squinting in an attempt to look menacing. "Just so you know, tell anyone one word of this conversation and I'll rip out your vocal chords."

The pink haired boy rolled his eyes, doing his best not to growl. He was starting to get exasperated with Gajeel's threats. It wasn't like he'd asked him for help.

"Why are you telling me all this, anyway?" He snapped back.

Gajeel looked like he was going to reply with that same aggressiveness, but hesitated. He leaned against his chair and took a deep breath.

It was only then that the seriousness of the situation struck Natsu.

"I'm not about to let you throw yourself into that path without warning you of the dangers. You might not be my favorite person in the world, but the loneliness that comes with losing the one you love…" He paused. "I saw it in Metalicana, even when I was younger. It does things to you."

He had a point and Natsu knew it. He had seen it in others, as well. It wasn't something that only dragons or dragon slayers experienced, the loss of the "love of your life". He could remember Lucy's description of her father, the way he'd slipped away from her after her mother's death, because he couldn't find any other way to cope with his wife's departure.

What would be of him if Lucy died?

After the Magic Games, the notion had passed through his mind many times, but he had never truly considered it. He had promised himself to save her from whatever harm may come, even if that meant giving up his life. He'd already seen her die once, he wouldn't let it happen one more time.

But Gajeel wasn't talking about death, only. He was talking about her leaving, finding someone else maybe. The idea pained him more than Natsu would have liked to admit. She was always with him, part of most of his waking moments and even some of his dreams. It was difficult to imagine Lucy going away and finding someone else.

She was simply… his.

"I'm hoarding her." He whispered under his breath, eyes wide with the realization. Gajeel snickered, watching carefully as the boy turned to him. "Why?"

There was a smirk in the iron dragon slayer's lips, an expression that clearly told Natsu that the man knew exactly what was going on, but wouldn't say anything.

"This is just too entertaining, Salamander. I've said enough. Figure it out."

He stood up suddenly, flashing a mocking grin in the other's direction before turning around to leave. Natsu was on his feet in an instant. Mind swimming with all that had been said, he grabbed Gajeel's shoulder, trying to stop him, but the man shrugged off his hand and glanced at the guild's doors.

Lucy and Levy were standing there, greeting each other and laughing about something.

It was still quite early, but the sun shone brightly, flooding the morning with that humid warmth that was characteristic of spring. The blonde stood in the sunlight, golden hair almost glowing, already back to using her skirts and low cut tops, and the boy couldn't stop the thought that she looked absolutely beautiful. The sight was so familiar that Natsu felt a grin spread across his face and the need to shout out to her made him choke on what he was going to tell Gajeel.

They didn't notice, but the pierced mage certainly did, because he laughed again, shaking his head and pretending to wipe off tears from his eyes.

"Maybe the warning came too late."

Natsu glared, diverting his attention from Lucy and closing his hands into fists by his sides.

"Quit with the charades! You're pissing me off!"

Gajeel moved to stand up straight, towering over him.

"If you had more than ash in that brain of yours, then you'd understand what I'm saying!"

Just as they were about to start throwing punches, Natsu felt someone touch his arm, pulling him back.

"The day just started." Lucy sighed, letting her hand slid down to grab his. "Let's keep the peace for a little while longer."

Levy was by Gajeel's side, lecturing him about starting fights so early in the morning. The man scowled, obviously annoyed, but responded with some nonchalant comment and started pulling her towards the outside tables, saying that she would get better light there, in case she wanted to read the book he'd brought her from his last mission.

"He started it." Natsu pouted as he let Lucy drag him to a table near. She smiled, looking at him over her shoulder.

"I find that difficult to believe." Her eyes were gentle, though, not a trace of anger in them as they moved to where her friend had sat down. Natsu was glad she wasn't mad at him anymore. "Just leave it for now. He's smitten. It's only natural that they want to spend some time alone."

Something in his mind clicked, going back to his conversation with Gajeel.

_Sure you do. I hoard shrimp, you hoard bunny girl. _

Natsu stared at the table in front of him, trying not to alert Lucy to the panic that had welled up inside of him.

He felt his heart beating inside his chest; it wasn't racing, but it was definitely stronger. It was just one of the things that Lucy did to him, to his body, but it had never seemed like a bad thing before. The boy accepted her beauty, he just hadn't thought about what his attraction to her might mean. Being forced to face this was… disconcerting.

"I feel strange." He muttered, clutching his head.

The celestial mage turned to him, examining his features with worry, before smiling once again.

"How about this: I'll get us some breakfast while you choose a mission. You don't look sick, so I bet a good ass kicking will make you feel just fine." She threw her hair over her shoulder, looking absolutely satisfied with herself. "The last job paid three months of rent, but I could use more jewels."

When their gazes met once again, there was a sort of warmth in her eyes that made Natsu think of how good it felt to wake up every morning to precisely that expression.

He grinned, punching the table excitedly and forgetting whatever had been troubling him moments before.

"I'm all fired up!"

* * *

**Oh, this took so long for me to write. I just went through some rough couple of weeks and I'm terribly sorry that the update took this long. I was also kind of blocked about it.**

**_Carols_, thank you for the patience, I promised you it would come before the week ended!**

**_BadassEri90 _and _TheGirlWithNoIQ_, I told you guys I would be updating soon, so here it is! I hope you will like this chapter!**

**The song is Wake me up, by Ed Sheeran. Funny story, actually: I found the song after finishing the chapter. Those verses just struck me as fitting, since Natsu observed how Lucy throws her hair behind her shoulder and how he likes her expression when they wake up.**

**This chapter should have been longer, because I haven't updated in a while, but I'm extremely busy.**

**Please, tell me what you think of the story so far! Any kind of commentary is welcomed.**


	10. Like A Flame

**Chapter 10: Like a Flame**

_Oh, she got both feet on the ground and she's burning it down. Oh, she got her head in the clouds and she's not backing down. This girl is on fire._

Happy was flying him over the city when Natsu first realized how incredibly impossible Lucy was.

They were in the middle of a mission, a little something to blow steam off. After his conversation with Gajeel, the last thing the boy needed was another idle afternoon in Magnolia.

Especially when they were usually filled with the three of them in the Strawberry Street apartment, talking and laughing and just being together, like some sort of… family.

Natsu looked down, shaking his head to disperse such thoughts, and stared at the scene that slowly unfolded in the ground.

Happy had stopped in midair, chuckling at any attempt the dragon slayer made to land.

"Let's go, Happy! It's a fight!" He tried once again, excitedly shaking his legs in the empty space under them.

The exceed wasn't convinced, because he just flew higher, smiling.

"Yeah! It's _her_ fight!"

It wasn't everyday that Happy demonstrated his affection towards Lucy, preferring to shower her with off-hand insults and little jabs; he was still a child, after all. And then there were moments like this, when he came up with some strangely accurate insight, and that was when he proved how truly he cared for the girl.

Happy's words brought Natsu's attention back to where two of the thieves were.

They had been hired to defeat a group of criminals who'd been causing trouble in the more commercial side of Kunugi. After a brief confrontation, those two had run away. They were the only mages in the bunch, but there was a greater number of thugs than expected and Lucy ended up being the one to chase the deserters, leaving Natsu to take care of the others.

The two had gone down a dead end and turned around to realize Lucy was already behind them, one of her keys in her hand. She was about to summon whatever spirit it belonged to, but was interrupted by the men – they looked so alike that it was probable they were brothers – who joined hands as they pointed in her direction.

Their magic was weird, the boy decided. It obviously depended on their physical contact, as if the link between them was their source of power.

"Close gate of the twins, Gemini!"

The beam of light hit the sidewalk as the Lucy that had previously stood there disappeared.

There was a moment of disorientation while Natsu searched the ground for his partner. She had used Gemini in order to disguise her actual position, but the mages wouldn't be confused for long and every cell in the boy's body told him that the blonde should make her move soon, before the surprise wore off.

He really shouldn't have worried.

"Virgo, now!" Just like that, a hole opened and closed under the more muscular man; he screamed as the ground swallowed him.

His partner dropped to the ground, digging into the freshly fluffed soil, but it was no use. As if the man, too, had come to this conclusion, he got up, taking a sort of wand from within his pocket. The thing was nothing special, thin and dark, with a single strand of hair encircling it.

In a second, it was out of his hands.

The whip came out of nowhere, wrapping around the object and pulling it towards Lucy, who was sitting on the edge of another hole, a few meters away.

She smiled.

"Cute. That's what your magic is about, then, blood connection. You guys are twins, right? I have one of those, as well." She got up, dusting herself off as the man's expression turned from shock to rage.

He charged, throwing his whole upper body forward in an attempt to tackle the celestial mage, but she simply moved to the side, letting him crash against the wall behind her. The criminal seemed more prepared than she expected, though, and changed directions.

This time, Lucy did a sideways handstand, before landing back on her feet.

She'd been training. Natsu knew that because of her sudden absences and because of the lean muscle that had started to appear in certain parts of her body that had been mainly soft curves mere months earlier. He hadn't confronted the girl about it, knowing that it was one of those things she had to do for and by herself.

Seeing the results of it all, though, the dragon slayer couldn't stop his grin.

Lucy Heartfilia was impossible.

She was a princess, most of the time, with her obsession about cleanness and clothes and pretty things. She was a sort of person he'd never met before. Most of the girls in the guild seemed too invested in their fights to care about what they wore or how they looked. And if they did care, they made a great job of hiding it.

But Lucy was girly. She liked to cook, enjoyed fashion, despised filth. She was supposed to be soft and a bit dependent, not because she wasn't powerful, but because her brains were more important to her than her brawn.

It was a weakness of her, so she adapted.

"This was fun," The girl laughed, escaping another punch. "but I'm in a hurry." She grabbed her attacker's wrist, using his own strength to redirect it and crash it into a wooden box. The fist got stuck, making it possible for Lucy to distance herself from the man. "My turn."

The celestial mage smirked as she pulled out one of her keys.

"Open gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"

* * *

"That was awesome." Natsu commented, landing by her side and throwing an arm around Lucy's shoulders as she finished tying the criminals' hands. "You've gotten better with that defensive kind of thing."

Through his touch, he felt the girl chuckle, the sound muffled by the murmurs of the crowd that was already gathering. Despite the sheen of sweat that covered her brow, Lucy seemed fairly unaffected by the fight.

"Well, I defend, my spirits attack. It's not like I have your raw power." She huffed, lightly thrusting her elbow into his ribs. "But that wore me out. I don't have enough stamina to hold that many spirits for long."

The boy glanced at her, watching as Taurus threw the tied up men over his shoulder.

"How many were you using today?"

She turned to smile at him, grabbing the hand that fell over her collarbones and pulling it in a signal for them to move.

"Back in the commercial center? Three or four, depending on the time. When I followed the twins, I lowered it to just Gemini and Virgo."

They were walking back to City Council, where the people who'd hired them promised to wait as they finished the job. The citizens around the mages talked excitedly, apparently recognizing their guild's mark. There were catcalls and laughs, but their reactions were mainly positive; after everything that happened in the Magic Games, it was good to see proof of Fairy Tails' growing reputation.

"So that's where you'd disappeared to? Underground tunnels?"

Lucy nodded, averting her eyes from his to look at Happy, who had flown over them and towards Taurus.

"You're not so stupid, anymore." The exceed interjected, smiling in that way of his.

"What are you talking about?! Rude cat!" She yelled back at him, releasing Natsu's hand and throwing her fist in the air.

He laughed, retreating his wings.

"You studied battle strategy. You've gotten better at it." He tried again, looking up at the girl from where he'd landed. "The hole technique worked this time."

This seemed to remind Lucy of something, because a warm redness rushed to her cheeks, and she pouted. Instead of being irritated, however, the comment made something akin to pride appear in her eyes.

"Was that an attempt to compliment me?"

Happy grinned, but there was just innocence in his eyes.

"Aye!"

The three laughed, silent for a moment as they crossed the bridge leading to the more residential area of Kunugi.

"Happy's right, though. Those moves were incredible!" Natsu jumped in place, trying to disguise his stare for something other than his new-found attraction.

Even if she was tired, Lucy still looked beautiful. There was something about her flushed appearance, about her wind swept hair and quick breathing that made the dragon slayer want to touch her, to just reach out and brush a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, so he would be able to lean down and bite into that point in her neck where he could almost see an artery pulsing with her heartbeats.

What would it feel like against his lips, against his tongue?

"Natsu?"

He blinked, realizing by the girl's concerned tone that he must have been staring. Happy was flying again, behind Lucy, while trying to muffle his laugh in his pawns.

"I just wanted to say that you were amazing today, Luce!" The boy grinned, tightening his grip around her shoulders and pulling her nearer.

Her gaze remained fixed at him for a moment before she shifted it to the ground, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. There was a new surge of color in her cheeks and the idea that he'd been the one to cause it made Natsu feel strangely pleased.

"I- I'm trying really hard." She confessed. "You're all so strong that I just… Sometimes I just feel like I need to work harder."

Lucy sighed, bringing a hand to smooth down her hair. She seemed anxious, as if this had all been a test and the results would be coming out soon. The boy frowned at her expression, feeling surprised and a bit irritated that his partner still felt the need to prove herself, despite how long they'd been friends.

"This is our life, Luce." He started, turning to face her fully, his arm slipping back to his side. "We fight because we want to, because we are mages. And yes, we need to work to improve, but it's for ourselves, not because we need others' approval."

She smiled, but all her mirth was gone.

"That's easy for you to say, Natsu, you are one of the most powerful mages I've ever met."

The compliment caught him off guard and the dragon slayer found himself unable to play it off. He gulped, feeling as Lucy grabbed onto his vest and traced the pattern of the fabric, obviously unaware of the sensations it caused in his body.

"That's because Natsu needs to be the greatest in order to find Igneel!" Happy waved from the ground, round eyes staring at them with doubt; he didn't understand why the two had stopped, especially since Taurus had continued to drag the criminals' unconscious bodies to the City Council.

His explanation seemed to awake something in Lucy, because she looked up once again, eyeing the dragon slayer with curiosity.

"Yes, Igneel…" She hesitated. "Why _aren't_ you looking for him?"

Happy seemed even more confused by her question; it hadn't been long since the last dragon rumor and they had pursued it until there wasn't a single person left to interrogate about the "scaled monster". It'd turned out to be a magically mutated lizard, nothing else.

Natsu, however, understood what the girl meant.

He'd stopped travelling as much as he'd done in the years previous to Lucy's appearance in his life and he knew Levy had told the blonde about it.

The boy smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"I guess I just realized Igneel wouldn't want me to live like that. You are more than just a mage, you know? You write, you go other places besides the guild…" He covered her hand with his where it held onto the vest, and their eyes met. "I decided I wanted that too, a life apart from Fairy Tail."

They smiled at each other.

"Yeah! Like Alzack and Bisca!" Exclaimed the blue exceed, already turning to follow the path Taurus had taken.

Lucy dropped her gaze to the ground, embarrassed by Happy's comparison. If Natsu had also made that connection, he said nothing, choosing to pull on her hand, forcing the girl to run with him, like he'd done that first time, in Hargeon.

She laughed, finding it humorous that, this time, they were running _towards_ the city's officials, instead of running from them.

"Oh, Luce," Natsu began, looking at her over his shoulder. She met his eyes, grinning. "Today, it was like you were…"

He seemed to be at a loss for words, so the girl chimed in.

"All fired up?"

The dragon slayer must have caught the amusement in her tone, because he chuckled.

"Yeah!"

_Unstoppable, like a flame_, Natsu recognized in a more secluded part of his mind._ And what a meal she would be._

* * *

**So, I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter; partly because I suck at action, partly because I've been horribly busy this past week. However, here it is. I hope everyone will like it, though.**

**A big thanks for every reviewer and every reader, you guys cheer me up so much.**

**The song, as everyone who isn't living under a rock probably knows, is Girl on fire, by Alicia Keys.**


	11. Awareness is Hell

**Chapter 11: Awareness is Hell**

_Heavy words are hard to take, under pressure precious things can break, and how we feel is hard to fake, so let's not give the game away. Just please don't say you love me, cause I might not say it back._

_Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that._

Lucy Heartfilia was in love.

This realization came to her with the sureness of an idiot – or that's what she though, for only idiots, in their ignorance of other possibilities, were able to find such certainty.

The fact wasn't all that surprising. The mage had always been sincere about her emotions and intense in her involvement with others. She had fully given herself to Fairy Tail; to Erza and Gray and Levy and Mira and Cana and…

Him.

Lucy had given herself to him in a way she had never thought possible. There was nothing left of her to hide, because he had taken every piece of sadness and every little perk, as if it was only fair that she was so exposed to him, as if her thoughts were also his.

Natsu Dragneel didn't understand the nuances of social life. For some crazy reason, he had formed a world where anything was acceptable, as long as it was done with a good intention. In that reality of his, he took ownership of the things he loved, simply because, well, he loved them.

And, yes, Lucy had always been aware of his possessive strike. Things like the way he would throw an arm around her when a stranger was close or how he would call her _his_ partner even when around Erza and Gray were weird in the beginning, but became adorable as time went on.

Maybe she should have seen the signs sooner, though. Accepting herself as his really should have set off some kind of alarm in her head.

"What are you doing, Luce?"

The girl shrieked, jumping in her seat with the surprise of Natsu's sudden appearance. He continued to look at her, leaning over her shoulder in a manner that brought their faces way too close.

"Natsu, can you move back a little?" She asked, grimacing and trying to put some distance between them.

Her heart hammered against her ribs and Lucy took a moment to chastise herself over never noticing it before.

There had been little things, of course, like a weight in her stomach or a bit of lightheadness, but the idea had seemed so impossible then that the celestial mage had merely attributed it to his physical attractiveness or her own exhaustion.

But Lucy Heartfilia was in love with Natsu Dragneel.

The thought made her feel even more embarrassed, and she tried to fight the blush that threatened to take her cheeks.

"You look weirder today." The boy in question took a seat beside her, examining her expression with curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

Lucy took a quick breath, shifting her stare to the counter in an attempt to escape from his scrutiny. From behind the bar, Mirajane was looking at the two, smiling like she knew exactly what the blonde had been revolving around her mind for the last hour.

The girl sighed, still unable to meet her partner's eyes.

"I'm fine. I just had a long day." She flicked her hair over her shoulder, but missed the way the boy's gaze accompanied the movement, or the way it lingered in her collarbone, before moving back to searching her face.

"Yeah, stripper over there bothered me the entire day." He growled out. "Somebody requested the two of us for a job and we had to take care of it."

Lucy smiled lightly, now playing with the edges of the book she'd been reading.

That morning, he hadn't been there when she woke up. Even though it was unusual for Natsu to leave early, it normally wouldn't have made her feel as uneasy as she had.

The girl had missed the comforting heat of his body, the way it felt against the contours of her own. In the last few days, she'd realized how much they moved in their sleep, bringing each other closer than it should be allowed, but had done absolutely nothing to stop herself from tangling their legs or touching his ribs.

It wasn't like Natsu behaved himself, either. More than once, she'd woken up to find his hands in more-than-inappropriate places. In those cases, the blonde had felt so embarrassed that she'd just jumped out of bed, too mortified to feel angry and trying to deny that part of her brain that processed how _good_ it had felt.

Yet, that day, consciousness had taken her to an empty apartment and the bright glow of mid-morning.

"So that's where you were." She pointed out in a soft tone, bending her head so her hair would obstruct his view of her face. The last thing she wanted was for Natsu to feel responsible over her sudden gloominess.

"Are you mad?" He frowned, lowering himself to look at her. "I probably should have told you where I was going, but Happy insisted on letting you sleep."

His tone had been apologetic and it made Lucy seat up straight. She blinked a few times, staring at him with wide eyes as the boy scratched his hairline with an anxiety that didn't suit him.

This was another thing that irritated her, how easy it was for the dragon slayer to accept the changes in their behavior. Hadn't he ever stopped to consider how they must look to others; blushing and touching and _living_ _together_? More than anything – his cluelessness, his lack of attention to her appearance, his lack of romantic interest –, it was Natsu's ability to not care about their relationship that truly made her feel like her feelings were completely one sided.

Shouldn't he feel something when they hugged? Or when he enveloped his arms around her waist before sleep, pressing her back against him?

_This is so messed up._

And then he started talking like they were some kind of married couple, as if he owned her some sort of explanation about what he did or where he would be, and it just wasn't supposed to feel like that. Like his ignorance of her was a physical blow to the chest.

But love was difficult, like her books had warned her.

"It's fine, Natsu." She rolled her eyes, disguising the conflicting emotions that his presence created. "At least you didn't destroy anything, this time." She eyed a cut over his brow, a small smile tugging on her lips. "Not even as many wounds as usual. I'm impressed."

The boy laughed, his mouth twisting into that childish grin of his.

_I'm in love with him._

There it was again, the certainty. It came like that first time, with the gentleness of a stomping elephant, taking her breath away.

Lucy chuckled in spite of her turmoil, because rationality always seemed to escape her on matters involving Natsu.

He just made her so happy.

The celestial mage paused, letting the hands that clutched the table fall limply and her grin slipped into a softer smile. She had never thought about it, but it was true. Natsu had given her such joy in life, shown her new things, traveled with her and protected her when needed. He had opened up her world in a manner that no one could have, that no one else would have dared to try.

Being his friend was one of the best choices she had made in her life, right up there with leaving home.

Even if things didn't work out, Lucy would never regret meeting him and Happy, because they were her friends above anything else.

How could she be sad with those two by her side?

"What did you do today?"

The girl had almost forgotten where she was and had to shake her head twice in order to put her thoughts back into place.

"Why?"

This time, Natsu pouted. His puffed cheeks made him look even more like a child and the whole effect only caused Lucy to giggle.

"You said you had a long day." He shifted to the left, and Lucy could tell he was annoyed and embarrassed by how lightly she took his concern.

It was funny how Natsu's behavior always struck her as odd, despite how normal it had become for him to be considerate around her. Even though the pink haired boy continued to be immature about many things, the last few years had changed some aspects of him; he wasn't as impulsive, nor as self-involved, and he had started to develop a strange sense of responsibility.

Lucy didn't know whether to be happy or distressed over the fact that this new responsibility only made him seem even more attractive to her.

"Yeah…" She drawled out, trying to conceal her blush. "Just the usual, I guess. I'm stuck on how to write a situation for my new novel."

Natsu nodded, taking a bite out of a steak she hadn't even noticed to be there.

"Let's do something to take your mind out of it, then." He replied, continuing before Lucy could scowl him for talking with his mouth full. "Isn't that what you always say? That it helps to take a step back?"

The girl looked down to where her hands rested, unsure if she wanted to spend the evening with Natsu when her mind was still such a mess.

"You can read me your story in bed!" The boy took Lucy's hand, pulling her up. His dark eyes shone in the artificial light of the guild, as intense as always and completely focused on her.

The blonde stared at him for a moment, her expression changing from confusion to warmth as Natsu talked about the last time they'd lazed around the apartment and about how the last thing he wanted to do was spend more of his day with Gray.

Lucy smiled.

There were many things that could go wrong in this relationship of theirs. He could find out about her feelings for him and not accept them, she could hurt herself by trying to run away from her emotions, their friendship could crash and burn in every way imaginable – and of course she would imagine them all; she was a writer.

But Natsu hadn't been the only one to change in the years they knew each other.

Lucy knew she would never be as intrepid as some of the guild's mages, for there were fears that not even magic could erase. Still, if there was anything Fairy Tail had taught her, it was that one should never give up without a fight. There were, after all, things worth the pain of a possible failure.

The celestial mage chuckled at her friend's antics, pulling on the hand that continued to hold hers and bringing him closer. As if they'd done it a million times before, Natsu slipped his hand up her arm and back down to the small of her back, making her body shake with his laughter.

She looked up at his face, smiling in a way that she felt she'd always done, without realizing what it actually meant. Her own ignorance amused and unnerved her, but Lucy could only clench the back of Natsu's vest in an attempt to calm the anxiety that threatened to take over as the dragon slayer's eyes met hers.

Awareness was hell.

The girl opened her mouth to say something, but the words got caught in her throat and she gave herself half a second to panic, for it was more likely that she would tell Natsu she was in love with him than it was for Lucy to be able to form some coherent thought in the mist of her rushing mind.

"If you promise to use your key, this time, I'll even cook something later." She exclaimed, instead.

Natsu grinned, hurrying his footsteps and pressing against her back, so Lucy would too.

The boy never heard the unspoken confession, and the girl never noticed that his touch was a little too low to be considered merely _friendly_.

* * *

**Soooooo...**

**This is a birthday present for my dear friend, Carol Pimsu. Happy birthday, my lovely, you deserve all that is best, but I could only give you this little thing; I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless.**

**Anyway, early update! Yeah!**

**For everyone that reads this, a big thank you, because you all make me feel loved.**

**Commentaries are welcome!**

**The song is Please don't say you love me, by Gabrielle Aplin; I highly recommend her songs.**


	12. Getting Too Close

**Chapter 12: Getting Too Close**

_I tried so hard to act nice like a lady. You taught me that it was good to be crazy. Every now and then the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design; could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?_

The way Lucy Heartfilia had been acting the last couple days was strange, unusual in a manner that alerted her partner, who had thought that, by then, he should be somewhat immune to her weirdness. As it turned out, there was still quite a lot for Natsu Dragneel to learn, because silence coming from the celestial mage certainly wasn't in his list of expectations.

"Is Lucy sick?" Happy asked from his perch on the window, waggling his tail in a way that made the boy think the exceed was more worried than he was letting on.

"I don't think so. She hasn't complained about any pain and her temperature feels the same."

In fact, that morning, Natsu had woken up to find Lucy cuddled up against him, her light warmth bringing a sort of pleasurable tingle to his skin. She had seemed incredibly content, just lying there with him while the spring air filled the room with its floral scent.

The window had been open, letting the night breeze come in and diminish the heat of the afternoon. This habit of hers used to make the dragon slayer a bit concerned; someone living alone should be more careful about the possibility of invaders, especially when living so near the center of Magnolia. Back when they first started their team, Natsu had made sure to visit Lucy as often as possible, something that Erza and Gray seemed to agree was best.

But the blonde was strong – stronger than she looked and possibly stronger than he imagined she might be –, and she could take care of herself. Of course she had weakness, but she was also far from the helpless _lady_ that her father had tried to make her into.

"What are the two of you mumbling about?"

Lucy's head popped out from behind the kitchen's doorframe, eyeing her boys with distrust. She'd been trying to bake something the entire morning, a family recipe she'd found on one of her mother's old books. That was also the only thing she'd said to them since waking up.

"Oh, you're talking to us, now?" Natsu grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting his eyes to the side.

He heard footsteps and then Lucy was crouching in front of him, a look of curiosity and frustration in her eyes.

"So that's what you were pouting about." She sighed, resting her hands on his knees in order to maintain balance.

Natsu readjusted himself in the couch, suddenly uncomfortable with her touch. It didn't help that looking down at her only served to give him a better view of the cleavage that already appeared from her low cut shirt.

It was decided, this attraction thing needed to go.

She stood up straight, shaking her head in what he guessed was amusement caused by his flushed cheeks.

"We thought you might have eaten a bad fish!" Happy intervened. "Because your face was all weird, aye!"

Lucy glanced at the cat, a glare making its way into her expression, before disappearing as the girl let out another sigh.

"I guess I was a bit distracted. I'm sorry if I was rude."

She smiled then, crossing one arm in a half self-hug and turning around to go back to the kitchen.

The image startled Natsu for the artificiality of it. He couldn't remember a time when their friend had looked as uneasy as then, pretending to be fine just so they wouldn't continue to question what was happening to her.

Before the girl could escape, Natsu had taken hold of her hand, pulling her back. The whip-effect made Lucy stagger for a moment, tripping on the rug and falling over his leg and onto the couch.

The two stared at each other.

"Well, at least I didn't fall on your lap." She giggled, throwing her head back and putting a hand over her eyes. "That would have been very cliché."

Natsu cracked a smile, feeling strangely glad that he'd gotten her to laugh.

He put a hand on her knee, tracing the small scars that were still there from their last mission. The mage tensed, initially, but it didn't take long for her to relax into his touch, parting her fingers to look at him.

"What really happened, Luce?"

There was a softness in his tone that he used only for her and it seemed to be something that the girl knew, too, because a barely-there redness took her cheeks and she closed her fingers to hide her eyes once again.

Happy was observing them from the ground, his gaze going from the quiet girl to the frowning dragon slayer, with whom he shared a concerned look.

"It's just awkward, Natsu." She exhaled loudly, still covering her eyes. "This morning. It was awkward. I don't think we should share the bed, anymore."

At this, the boy staggered, throwing himself back and into the sofa's cushions in a movement of such clear embarrassment that it startled Happy out of his confused thoughts.

"What happened this morning?" The cat asked, uneasy.

Well, it had started like many before, of course, with Natsu waking up before dawn. Their position hadn't been one of the more suggestive ones, but there had been an intimacy to it that had somehow stopped the boy from trying to disentangle himself.

He had no opposition to having Lucy with him. He had made it obvious that he liked her company and her bed, and having the two combined had always seemed like the most acceptable choice. Everything about their nights together felt like home; the warmth, her scent, the feel of her skin. Even after the rise of his odd desire for her body, Natsu had remained fairly unaffected by his physiological responses and her reactions to them.

The changes, he imagined, had started with his sudden discontentment with the idea of letting go.

"I don't see what's the big deal." Natsu complained, scrunching up his brows and pouting.

Lucy groaned, palming her face in distress.

"You don't! That's the problem!" She smashed her hands against the cushions, pushing herself up to look at him. "I'm a girl, Natsu! Have you even noticed that? I'm a girl, and you're a boy!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" He questioned, his face twisting into confusion. "I know you're a girl. I've felt it."

That was the wrong thing to say, if the pillow that crashed into his head was any indication.

"Can you stop bringing this up?" The shout was less of a request than it was an order. "It's not proper!"

At this, the boy snickered, fully turning to stare at his friend.

"So what?" He stopped another pillow. "Like I said, it's not a big deal. We are partners; I don't care what others will think, and you shouldn't either."

His words seemed to quiet her down a bit, but Lucy puffed her cheeks, looking flushed.

"I wasn't raised like this, Natsu. I wasn't supposed to have been…" She hesitated, shifting her gaze to the floor. "To have been touched like that, I wasn't supposed to share a bed with a boy, and I certainly wasn't supposed to –" She interrupted herself, glancing at the dragon slayer with what could only be described as panic.

The boy contoured one of the scars on her knee, the look in his eyes urging her to continue.

"I wasn't supposed to get used to you being there in the morning, not like it was today." The girl took a deep breath. "It was awkward, Natsu."

That morning, dawn had come to find the boy still in the same position he'd woken up in, staring at the blonde with unabashed wonder. He liked the way she mumbled things while sleeping, and he liked the curve of her lips itself, he liked how her breathing pushed her chest against his and how that touch made his entire body vibrate. Getting lost in his appreciation of her, Natsu didn't notice that warm brown eyes had started to blink until they were already fully open, staring up at him.

Lucy had smiled then, that same smile from the previous days, in which there was a sense of complete satisfaction with life and just a bit of shyness. He blamed the haziness of the morning, but Natsu had wanted to lean over and kiss that smile and those mumbling lips and that curve, right down to where their chests met.

"It wasn't awkward." He protested, holding onto her legs when she tried to throw them over the edge of the couch in order to get up. "It was good."

Whatever she'd taken from his statement, it had caused the celestial mage to stop trying to get away and made her stare at him with wide eyes and a blank expression.

"Haven't I told you already?" Natsu continued. "You are not a lady, Luce, you are part of Fairy Tail. That's where you belong: laughing and drinking with everyone. That's okay, too. No need to be proper when we know that Cana uses guys like they are disposable, and Laxus is about as serious about his relationships as Nab is about taking a mission." He laughed. "And I know that you don't think any less of them because of that, as long as they make what they want clear for those they are involved with."

Not for the first time in the past few months, Lucy was taken aback by the rationality of her friend's words. He had surely grown – in more ways than one – but it was still strange to face his changes.

The girl sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, letting her head fall back against couch and closing her eyes. There was a heaviness to her eyelids that spoke of how much energy those thoughts had been taking from her.

"You're right."

Natsu grinned, patting her knee in a manner that could be considered affectionate, but felt more like she was being treated like a pet.

"Sure I am. And you are a weirdo." He nudged her legs, signaling that he wanted her to get up. "But now I want to know what you were cooking."

Lucy moaned, drowsiness clouding her mind.

"It was this pie my mother used to make. It never came out right, but my finishing teacher used to say that cooking was one of the most important traits a woman of my status should have." She chuckled bitterly. "Father didn't agree. His daughter was an heiress, not a servant. Didn't matter, really, I always forgot it in the oven…"

Her eyes opened, a grimace of surprise taking her face.

"I forgot it in the oven!"

Natsu laughed as she jumped over his legs, rushing back into the kitchen. He stood up lazily, scratching the back of his neck as he made his way to the girl.

Inside, Lucy was frowning down at the pie. It seemed eatable, but the edges were certainly burned, almost black. Happy was flying over her shoulder, giggling into his paws.

"Not a lady, at all!" The exceed commented, flying higher when the blonde reached out for his wings, threatening to pluck them out.

By their side, Natsu continue to grin, taking advantage of Lucy's momentary distraction to take little pieces of the pie.

"Aye," He exclaimed, turning to the girl, who stopped her violence towards Happy to look at him, "but just how I like it!"

A bright redness colored Lucy's cheeks as her eyes grew wide, but Natsu said nothing else, too engrossed in his food to completely take in her reaction. After a moment, her expression softened and she giggled, staring at the dragon slayer with that same pleased and shy smile of hers.

* * *

**As always, I'm a bit late for my weekly update. I try, I really do, but life gets in the way, so it's probable that the update will happen in two weeks (hopefully) time.**

**I sort of liked how this turned out, because all I had in mind while writing it was "fluff, fluff, fluff" and there ended up being a little character development.**

**The song is Lucky Ones, by Lana Del Rey.**

**A shout out to everyone who reviewed: I adore you guys and I will pm everyone with a thank you, but life's been busy.**

**Another shout out to Carols, who reads my chapters before I upload and boosts up my ego.**


	13. Put a Spin on It

**Chapter 13: Put a Spin on It**

_You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed, sing like a bird, dizzy in my head, spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night. You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like gold, buzz like a bee; just the thought of you can drive me wild. Oh, you make me smile._

Spring afternoons in Magnolia always carried a kind of vague cheeriness. As it is common, flowers bloomed, people talked and boats floated down the now unfrozen river. What had been whites and greys during the winter sparked with new life, coloring the grounds as a sure sign of the new season.

If the citizens had been quieter during the icy December, by the end of May, they were bursting with energy.

It was in this scenario of loud crowds and animated talk that one Lucy Heartfilia found herself, sighing with a heaviness that was completely uncharacteristic of the celestial mage. She was, after all, known for her animated – if a bit fiery – temper, and her kindness.

Thirty days to the beginning of summer, however, joy was the last thing she felt.

Things had started well: She'd woken up to her best friend's warmth and to the light scent of flowers that, as usual, flooded her room. Happy had somehow found a way between them, like children between their parents, resting his head against her stomach with his tail around Natsu's wrist. The feeling of them curled up with her in such a chaste manner had Lucy thinking, once again, about the ideas of _home_ and _family_ that they liked to thrown around, as if it meant nothing.

For a girl whose concept of family life consisted of a distant father and a lot of servants – mixed with the few memories she still possessed of her mother's gentleness –, it meant everything.

Nevertheless, Lucy had detached herself from the two, knowing full well that her to-do list was sitting in the kitchen table and that it indicated all the tasks that would be left undone if she didn't get to them _pronto_.

To say that things had gone downhill from that moment would be an understatement.

The market place had been filled with people, resulting in three hours spent trying to buy what was needed and a whole lot of annoyances; yelling kids, rude parents, men and their catcalls, and even an old woman with a cane that insisted Lucy had grabbed her cheese.

After an eternity in what could only be described as hell, the girl was more than ready to return home, but also knew that, once there, her laziness and the comfort of her friends' presence would only serve to keep her in bed for the rest of the day.

So, out of some ridiculous sense of responsibility, Lucy decided to postpone her lunch and just head for the dressmaker.

As it turned out, her new uniform – which she had been excited to see finished since the previous week – had suffered a terrible accident in the hands of the shop's new trainee. It would take at least another two weeks until they got that kind of fabric again, and the girl left empty-handed, sadness coating the anger that had already settled in the pit of her stomach.

It was then that Lucy was surrounded by an ever growing crowd. Initially, it had been a group of outsiders, some people from the less troubled areas of Fiore who'd seen her in a mission and who had, since, leant about the "legend" of the celestial mage of Fairy Tail.

Despite the pride she had in her rising reputation, the blonde wasn't happy to realize that no matter how many hands she shook, nor how many smiles she gave, the attention given to her only attracted more attention; people attracted more people.

When Lucy was finally able to disentangle herself, she was late for her appointment with a publisher.

And that was probably where her day took a definite turn for the worse, for when the girl walked into the editor's office, sweaty and famished, frantically searching for the manuscript that was somewhere in the mess of bags she carried, the looks sent in her direction were anything but _cheerful_.

An hour or two later – she had lost track of time –, Lucy Heartfilia stood in the middle of a familiar street, frozen in what could be seen as reverie, but was actually a complete blankness. In her confusion of anger and sadness and _rejection_, the girl had opted for the path that, in her mind, caused the least destruction. She felt numb.

"I'm home." The girl announced, walking into the apartment with the pace of a dead man who still hadn't noticed his own terrible fate.

From within the kitchen there were noises, but Lucy couldn't find it in herself to yell at her two roommates. Everything about her appearance spoke of misery: the downturn of her lips, the glassy shine in her eyes, the lack of grace with which she dropped herself in her bed, letting the groceries fall to the ground.

Movement behind her alerted Lucy to Natsu's entrance, but she didn't turn, choosing to bury her face in the mattress. The physical manifestation of nothingness wasn't a conscious choice, of course, and this only seemed to worry the boy further.

He kneeled besides the bed, gaze running down her body in search for possible wounds or signs of fight. Natsu had never actually seen a mage in such conditions, but his thought had instantly gone to stories told by grandpa Makarov, about the mental afflictions that could accompany _destruction_. In his tales, though, that destruction took the form of violation, a degree of violence that the boy felt ill even thinking about.

There were many sick people in this world.

But Lucy still smelled like Lucy; a scent that he found sweet, despite his inability to pinpoint each individual fragrance.

"Are you okay?" Natsu questioned anyway, his hand hovering over her arm as he debated whether to touch her or not.

"Yeah."

Her response came muffled by fabric, in a tone that lacked any infliction.

Natsu frowned, forehead wrinkling as he searched his mind for some clue to what could have bothered his partner to such an extent. All he could remember, though, was how Lucy had ranted about finishing her new book and how she had gotten an interview with some publisher.

She didn't like the idea of using Fairy Tail's name to propel her writing career, so the girl had used a pseudonym.

He felt a surge of affection, softly smiling down at Lucy. She had all these rules, all these predefined concepts of what life was, and her resistance to changes really should have annoyed the dragon slayer, but they simply made her look more enchanting.

Natsu propped his chin against the mattress, nuzzling her back.

"Is this about the book?"

Lucy didn't reply, but the tenseness of her body was enough of an answer.

There seemed to be a moment of silence in which his words hanged in the air, too clumsy and too blunt to be anything but a bitter reminder of everything that had already gone wrong in the girl's day.

"I just want to be alone, Natsu." She whispered, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder.

The boy pouted, dark eyes boring into hers. He wanted to make sure nothing bad had happened, Lucy understood that, but she really couldn't handle having to measure her words around Natsu when all she felt was the panicked edge of frustration.

Enough expectations and hopes had been broken; her book wasn't that great, giving it her best had resulted in nothing, and Lucy of Fairy Tail was, once again, the fragile Lucy Heartfilia.

"I really don't like this." Natsu grumbled and his expression of discontent was so ridiculous that it made her lips twist into an almost smile.

She knew she was being extremely dramatic about the whole thing, there would be other books, other publishers, but this knowledge did little to soothe the sick feeling in her stomach.

"It's okay." She said, rolling closer to him. "I just want to wallow in self-pity for a bit. Maybe take a nap."

Natsu grinned at her poor attempt at a joke, patting the top of her head like he would do to Happy, before leaving the bedroom.

An hour or so later, Lucy woke up for the second time that day. The curtains had been pulled shut, but the absence of the orange haze that usually covered the room told her she had missed the sunset, though not for much. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, her mind still confused over when she'd actually fallen asleep and why she'd awakened.

A sudden thumping noise answered that last question.

The celestial mage stood up quickly, both curious and afraid of what she might find in her kitchen. Leaving Natsu and Happy to their own devices was never a very good option, because one was a pyromaniac and the other was a fish-addict without the ability to understand common sense.

She shuddered to imagine the havoc they could have created in a whole day of unsupervised "fun".

Whatever her overactive mind had come up with, it certainly was nowhere near the image the girl found: Natsu scolding Happy, as the exceed tried to balance himself on a thin line that was somehow extended across the room.

"No wings, this time! We need to do this right!"

Lucy blinked once and then twice, inching her head to the side, as if incorporating all the clichés of body language that could represent confusion.

"What exactly are the two of you trying to do?" She inquired after a period of baffled observation, amusement dripping from her words.

Natsu turned to her, his expression going from surprised to displeased.

"You were supposed to be in bed." He complained.

"Yeah, and you weren't supposed to be playing tightrope in my kitchen, but here we are." Lucy laughed, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward in that manner that always served to make the boys sweat.

Happy panicked.

"She caught us! Run!" He took flight, but Natsu grabbed his tail, gently pulling him down.

"It's okay, Happy, we weren't doing anything wrong." He grinned, walking to Lucy and throwing an arm over her shoulders. "It was going to be a surprise, but Luce had to ruin it."

The girl puffed her cheeks, glaring at her best friend.

"I didn't ruin anything, you were the idiots who couldn't keep it down!"

Happy smiled from his perch on her table.

"Lucy ruined it, but watch, still!" The cat told her, before climbing onto the rope.

She laughed at his attempt, entertained by the expressions of fright and relief that alternated with each other as he lost his footing, only to regain it after a moment. She applauded.

"What _is_ this?" The mage asked, grinning, when Happy finally finished his course, bowing exaggeratedly. By her side, Natsu scoffed, detaching himself and joining the other in a bow.

"Circus o' Fairy Tail, of course!"

Lucy stared, desperately trying to suppress her laughter as she muttered a soft "Of course".

"It's because you were sad, Lu-cy." The cat explained in a sing-song voice, already opening a can of tuna from the groceries she'd bought that morning. "Natsu said your book was probably rejected."

His bluntness, like Natsu's before, provoked a spark of irritation that was soon quelled by the sadness she still felt.

"They are idiots; worse than Gray, that pervert, or Gajeel, the illiterate lightning rod. I liked it! Especially the part about the demon actually being a protecting spirit!" The pinkette declared, thrusting a fist into the air in an aggressive manner. He stumbled over the word illiterate, and color rushed to his cheeks as he realized the information he'd just given her.

"You read it?"

They had obviously expected her to snap at Natsu for reading something private, but there was a timidity to her expression that wasn't normally present. She smiled, looking down at her feet and tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

The boy opened his mouth to say something, but stopped at the smell of salt that had suddenly appeared. Tears welled up in her eyes, and Lucy tried to brush them off, embarrassed by how weak she probably looked to Natsu, shifting from anger to melancholy with such ease.

"Damn, she's at it again." She heard the boy whisper to the blue feline. "Quick, plan B!"

As Happy fled from the kitchen, still carrying the canned fish, Lucy almost followed. She had grown weary again, because the plans that duo produced usually didn't end too well for her. The girl was, however, hindered from spying on the exceed, as Natsu took hold of her hand and pulled, drawing her closer to him.

She was instantly reminded of that day months ago, the boy's birthday, when she'd insisted to teach him that exact dance, to the exact song that now played, coming from the living room. Her bafflement melted into tenderness, and she laughed when Natsu spun them, navigating their bodies away from the furniture.

"This is surprising." Lucy commented in a tone that hid how affected by the gesture she truly was. It wasn't enough, because the dragon slayer smirked, obviously pleased with himself.

"I'm taking that as a good thing." He stated, a grin of such joy in his lips that Lucy found her mouth twisting in that same way. Her eyes still weren't dry, but she blinked away the tears, satisfied that he hadn't realized them to be a representation of how touched by his compliments she actually was.

This time, when the song got to a quicker pace, Natsu twirled her.

When Lucy was little, she had imagined many times what the man of her dreams would be like. In her mind, he would be somewhat like her father: polite, tall, someone with a sparkling reputation to match his sparkling demeanor. She hoped he would be caring, though, and smart and funny.

He would read lots of books, which would make him a great person to talk, because he would know things like economy and politic, but he would also have unlimited passion for those alternate universes she adored so much.

As a child, the girl thought she would fall in love with the perfect man.

Years later, as a completely different person, in a completely different home, Lucy laughed as she danced and as Natsu tripped over his feet, unexpectedly glad that she hadn't fallen for her dream guy.

Lucy Heartfilia was in love with Natsu Dragneel, with all his imperfections, because he was destructive and protective, her best friend, who understood little of what she said and even less of what she did, but who would train his cat to walk in a tightrope just to cheer her up and slow dance until her scowl disappeared.

What could she say? He made her smile.

* * *

**I think I'm late again, but my life is such a mess that I'm not even sure. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, because the adorableness of it all came to me and just wouldn't leave.**

**The song is Smile, by Uncle Kracker. Old as balls.**

**Thank you, everyone who has read and reviewed so far, you make my day!**


	14. The Moments of Is and Was

**Chapter 14: The moments of is and was.**

_By the time I recognize this moment, this moment will be gone, but I will bend the light pretending that it somehow lingered on. […] Was there a second of time that I looked around? Did I sail through or drop my anchor down? Was anything enough to kiss the ground and say I'm here now? And she's here now._

When Natsu Dragneel entered the Strawberry Street apartment – through the window, as he was known for –, Lucy Heartfilia didn't even flinch, limiting herself to a mere smile over her shoulder before she continued to sort through the letters sitting in her dinner table.

While some people would see this behavior as strange, it was actually a representation of the familiarity they had fallen into those past few months. Even though the girl would always disapprove of her partner's manners, she had also grown accustomed to Natsu's eccentricity. It was endearing, in a way, his energetic cheerfulness and how he seemed to focus it on her.

It was also awfully misleading, but Lucy didn't want to go into that.

"What are you doing, Luce?" The dragon slayer asked, quietly setting the sleeping Happy down onto her bed. The blue exceed purred as he curled around one of Lucy's pillows, murmuring something about the fishes he'd gotten for Carla.

The blonde turned back to her work, smiling softly at the adorableness of his dreams. She admired that in the cat, his ability to be open about his feelings in spite of how painful Carla's rejection must be.

Natsu stood by her bed, watching Lucy's expressions change as her attention reverted back to her thoughts. The little grimaces were weird – there was no better word to describe them, _her_ – but the happiness depicted in the quirk of her brows was enough to make his own lips twist into a grin.

The boy approached her from behind, placing his hands on her hips as he tried to crane his neck to look at the letter Lucy had been reading moments before.

His touch made her freeze, and the paper in her hands fell to the table as a gasp escaped her. The celestial mage glanced at Natsu from the corner of her eye, staring at him with a sort of panic he wasn't completely oblivious to. He had seen it in her reactions to him for quite some time now: a mixture of surprise and anxiety, as if she was expecting him to jump her at any second.

The boy blinked, face reddening with the implication created by his brain.

It was true that his attraction to Lucy hadn't lessened at all. The more time they spent together, the more he seemed to want her near. It was a desire he hadn't known before her appearance in his life, but that had turned into an old acquaintance with her constant presence by his side.

He supposed it came with age.

He'd been a child then, when they'd met, with a head full of all the things he heard in the guild and of all the things Igneel had told him, without ever understanding. He shouted at Gray for being a pervert and he laughed about the idea of sex, simply because emulating the others was easier than questioning their behavior.

Gildarts had said that, when the time came, Natsu, as well, would find something who made his blood pressure spike.

"Hm… Natsu? Are you okay?" Lucy's voice intruded on his thoughts as she pressed back onto him, resting her head against his shoulder.

The movement startled him slightly, but the boy did his best not to show it. His heart pounded against his chest, racing like only Lucy could make it do.

The way his body responded to her still confused Natsu. They had been friends for years and shared a relationship that was closer than any he had had previously, but that was exactly why he shouldn't feel such things around her. He had always known that Lucy was beautiful, so what had changed?

"I'm fine." He replied, turning his head to the side to hide his blush.

The dragon slayer supposed they had started to overstep some boundaries they probably shouldn't have. Lucy, who was usually very firm about limits not being crossed, had accepted him into her home and into her bed in the most innocent of ways, only for them to fall into these strange little habits, like holding each other while sleeping or always being in close contact.

"How did fishing go?" The girl had picked up her letter, trying to act nonchalant so he wouldn't notice the redness of her cheeks.

"It was great!" Natsu replied, grinning. "We stopped at the guild to leave what we caught. You said we didn't have any space left in the fridge, right?"

He connected his hands over her stomach, embracing Lucy as his head dropped to the crook of her neck.

"I- I did say that." She answered, blinking rapidly as a new rush of heat flooded her face. "I guess it was nice of you to do that. Mira has given the two of you enough free meals, so she must appreciate the change of pace."

Natsu smirked against her skin, both puzzled and satisfied by the celestial mage's rapid pulse.

"Yeah, well, Happy dozed off while I talked to everyone. I had to carry him here." He groaned out, without moving from his previous position.

Lucy chuckled, squirming a bit against him.

"Don't be so grumpy about it." She chastised softly. "And take a step back, will you? Your breath is tickling –"

She had stopped talking and was turning an envelope in her hands, obviously shocked by it in some way. The tenseness in her shoulders made Natsu open his eyes, shifting to try and see what was so special about this new letter.

"Is that the water bill? Because I swear it was Happy! He said I couldn't flood the bathroom and it was pretty much a dare, so what else could I do?!" He pleaded to her more reasonable side, already feeling dread fill him as he thought about what kind of punishment Lucy would come up with.

"It's not the water bill." Her statement came in a breathless whisper. Natsu felt her body shake against his. "It's from my father's lawyer."

The boy pulled away from her, facing her more directly as his expression sobered up to one of suspicion.

"Your father?" He frowned. "I thought that was over. Didn't he give you the money to keep this place after… Well, you know, after we came back from Tenrou Island?"

Lucy turned away from him, clutching the letter to her chest. Even without being able to see her eyes, Natsu could smell the saltiness of tears and it only served to deepen his scowl.

"I hate it when people make you cry."

The celestial mage seemed to catch her breath, before glancing at Natsu over her shoulder. She smiled and it was that smile she always gave him, self-pleased and embarrassed, but there was an edge of sadness that drained it of all its joy.

"Because I'm your nakama." She rubbed her cheek, wiping the tear that had been there. "You say the most exasperating things, did you know?"

Natsu was taken aback by her tone. She didn't sound angry or annoyed, just _tired_. He wasn't used to that. Lucy was one of the most determined people he had ever met; she never gave up, even when it meant wearing herself to the bone. Having her look so weary felt wrong and it made his chest clench with worry.

"Because you're my nakama." He agreed, a grin spreading across his face. "But especially because you're Lucy!"

This time, the color that rushed to her face went pretty much unnoticed as the girl giggled, the brightness of it making Natsu beam back at her.

"So exasperating." Lucy muttered under her breath, sounding strangely happy.

"Anyway," the dragon slayer approached her once again, taking hold of the hand that wasn't still clutching the envelope. "What does the lawyer want?"

She squeezed his hand, entwining their fingers.

"Do you remember the Heartfilia state?"

He nodded, scrunching up his face into a grimace as he thought about the mansion.

"That gigantic town? 'Course I do."

Lucy rolled her eyes but didn't bother to correct him; in a way, she could understand the others' admiration for her old home.

"They still haven't found a buyer, since the grounds are so extensive. They could sell it in parts, but my father made sure there was a clause in the contract that assured the lands would remain connected." She smiled. "He wanted everything to stay the same."

Natsu stared at his partner, confused.

"But what does that have to do with you?"

Lucy glanced at him, before shifting her gaze to her feet. She let go of his hand, thrusting the letter into it.

"I know I don't belong there, anymore, but it was my home for a long time." The girl walked to her bed, sitting on it and looking out the window. Besides her, Happy whimpered in his sleep. "I can't bring myself not to care."

Natsu looked at the paper in his hand, noticing that the envelope was still closed. He wasn't sure what to do with it. Did Lucy want him to burn it? Did she want him to read it?

A breeze came in through the open window, carrying little yellow flowers and their warm scent.

It was almost summer.

"I can understand that." Natsu said after a moment of silence, staring at the back of his friend's head in hope she would turn to him. "You miss those times when things hadn't started to go wrong. I can relate to that."

Lucy's lips twisted into the softest of smiles and she pulled Happy closer to her lap, stroking in between his ears.

"I know you can, Natsu. I guess there aren't many in Fairy Tail who wouldn't be able to understand the beauty of 'what once was'. It's part of what brings us all closer."

The boy sighed, before moving to the bed. He sat down next to Lucy, enveloping her in his arms and burying his face in her shoulder.

"I guess."

The blonde continued to play with Happy's ears, pretending not to be affected by his weight on her back.

"I'm sorry. This is depressing." She laughed, bringing a hand to her forehead in embarrassment.

"It's not, you weirdo." Natsu replied, pressing his lips against the skin of her neck in a comforting gesture. The impulse felt odd, even to him, but Lucy felt warm and soft and he didn't regret it.

If she had noticed his action, the girl said nothing.

"The grounds have gotten cheaper, because no one wants to pay what they are worth." She explained, going back to the subject of the letter. "I contacted the lawyer about a year or two ago, saying that I was interested in getting the mansion back, if I ever got the money necessary to do so."

Natsu straightened his back, tilting his neck to look at her.

"Is that what you've been doing with your jewels?"

The girl nodded, turning to him.

"I tried to save as much as possible from our missions, I did little jobs on the side, like working as a waitress in the guild, and I tried to publish my books…" She frowned and Natsu remembered that her book's rejection was still a sore subject.

"You should have told Happy and I! We would have helped!" Natsu grinned, letting go of her and throwing his arms up in excitement. "I bet there's a fish pond somewhere in that town!"

Lucy widened her eyes, both surprised and touched by his offer.

"I couldn't ask that of you."

"You didn't ask." He argued. "We would buy it together! It would be awesome!"

The easiness he had said it – that they could buy a _house_ together – flabbergasted her and Lucy staggered back, knocking Happy onto the floor. The exceed whined, waking up, and mumbled about an attack, before realizing what had happened.

"Lucy is hurting me!" He exclaimed, flying up to Natsu's shoulder. "She finally lost it!"

The girl glared at him, which made the dragon slayer laugh. He found it funny how temperamental Lucy could be.

"It's okay, Happy." Natsu appeased him. "We are talking about getting Lucy's old house back. I guess she got too excited about it."

The blonde smiled at this, somewhat glad that he hadn't understood the true reason behind her reaction.

"As I was saying," she started, regaining her composure. "I sent the lawyer a letter, telling him how much I could afford to pay. I was able to save up quite a lot, especially since the two of you moved… in…" She faltered in her words.

It was the first time they talked about it so clearly. After those first weeks in the winter, the three had fallen into a routine, preferring not to analyze what they were doing. Even if Lucy acknowledged it to herself, it was strange to put it so clearly to Natsu. She feared he might feel the need to correct her.

But the boy merely continued to grin at her.

"See? We helped!" He said to Happy, oblivious to the shy smile that had appeared in Lucy's lips.

"Does that mean we get to play there?" The exceed questioned, joyfully looking up at her.

"I don't know." She confessed, moving her gaze to the letter that remained in Natsu's hand. "Does it?"

The dragon slayer didn't waste a second. He ripped the envelope, opening the letter and skimming through it quickly. As he read, his brow wrinkled in what seemed to be frustration.

"What is it, Natsu?" Happy was the first one to voice their concern, as Lucy found herself too afraid to ask.

The boy met her eyes, and the concern in his gaze made something twist in her stomach.

"He said it might be enough," he hesitated. "But you will need to go to him, because it looks like there is another person interested."

Lucy nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Well, it looks like I'll be going on a field trip." She stood up from the bed, putting a smile onto her face as she forced herself to stay positive. "It was bound to happen, really." She shook her head, seeming to break away from her thoughts, and looked over at the other two. "You must be tired from the fishing. I'll prepare something for you."

With that, the girl made her way to kitchen, wringing her hands in agitation.

After she'd disappeared from sight, Happy turned to Natsu, frowning worriedly at the scowl present in his friend's expression.

"Is there more?" He asked in a small voice. The pinkette nodded.

"Apparently, there is some sort of privacy clause in the contract." Natsu crumpled the letter in his fist. "We can't go with her."

Lucy was going back to her home, and Natsu suddenly feared that meant he was going to lose his.

* * *

**I am so sorry! Like I've said a hundred times before, my life is super crazy right now, so I don't have much time to do anything. Not only that, but I suffered a terrible block with this story and I struggled so much with this chapter that I ended up writing like 4 oneshots before I got my inspiration for this back. I feel like I cheated you guys, sorry.**

**This story is being edited because I felt it was needed, so it will be officially set in the future, after Natsu's twenty first birthday.**

**A gigantic thank you to everyone who has supported Something More, you guys make me so happy, it's ridiculous.**

**The song is Clarity, by John Mayers.**


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